A sneaky disguise
by Rosa Cooper
Summary: Okay. what if Carmelita, to catch Sly, had to work WITH him. Under disguise, Carmelita enters the Cooper gang...what will happen? OMG Chapter 11!
1. Chapter 1

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Hello again! My first long story! Yay! It's pretty much going to be about Carmelita going undercover _inside_ the Cooper Gang for Interpol. Good move, or dangerous? We'll find out, after I say that I do not own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Interpol or Chief Barkley. I did make up the three Inspectors, but it's not much anyway. Anyway, on with the (hopefully) long story…

'INSPECTOR FOX! MY OFFICE! NOW!' Chief Barkley yelled from outside the office of Interpol's greatest and most ruthless Inspector. After a moment, the red door was flung open and a flustered orange fox replied, 'Yes Chief!' before quickly closing the door behind her and following her boss down the corridor.

Other Interpol officers watched the short procession of their angry boss (to which they all attempted to look either inconspicuous or hard at work) and beautiful vixen (to which they all glared, whispered, pointed, leered or made harassing comments to). But the determined fox held her head up high and followed the German Shepard in front of her to his office.

'Wait there.' He barked at her, pointing to just beside the doorframe of his office door.

Then he walked inside and slammed the door in her face.

Shocked, the Inspector stood staring dumbfounded at the wooden insult in front of her. Until she heard her boss call out, 'Come in. And no dilly-dallying Inspector!'

Her sense of shock was replaced by confusion and slight curiosity, and Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Her boss sat, chewing earnestly on his never-ending cigar, arms crossed and a somewhat angry expression on his face. Okay, make that very angry. Carmelita tried to think what she'd done to cause this. Already! she thought, it's like he doesn't have any other mood! However, her gaze was drawn to the three 'suits' in the small room. Each of them had a look of superiority on their smug faces, and they looked at her over their noses, considering whether she was even worth their time.

Stuck up bunch of…Carmelita thought, deciding to ignore them for now. She turned to her boss. 'You called, Chief?' she said in a no-nonsense tone.

The stout dog nodded gruffly, then, in a voice to match his mood, began. 'Yes, I did,' he started. 'Inspector, these fine officers are Detectives Green, Leaf and Tea.'

Carmelita did some serious cover-up coughing to stop herself from bursting into laughter. She clamped her hand over her mouth, and tried to hide her giggling, while Chief Barkley busied himself by brushing his moustache with his hand, hiding his smile.

The Detectives just kept their superior looks.

After both boss and employee had regained their composure, the Chief continued. 'So, these three Detectives here, from I.S.P, Interpol Strategies and Planning, because there are concerns about the Cooper case.'

Any remainder of humour left on the vixen's face vanished completely, and her face became stony and hard. The Chief noticed this, and thwarted her worries early. 'No Inspector,' he assured her. 'I'm not taking you off the case.'

Carmelita relaxed, and the Chief continued. 'We, I mean, the Detectives here,' he said, suddenly becoming nervous around the intimidating Detectives. 'are just trying out some different tactics, so you can finally catch this criminal.'

Carmelita brightened considerably, and Detective Green spoke up, the first of the three to actually say something the whole time of this informal meeting.

'Inspector,' he began. 'We have noticed you are having some difficulty in arresting this Sly Cooper,'

He paused as Carmelita tensed, her pretty face creased in familiar frustration. 'We also notice that although your work and dedication to this case is unparalleled, you have not progressed far at all.' Carmelita's suspicion grew, and she eyed the Detective warily as she spoke.

'That's true, but I've got a-'

'-99 conviction rate.' the second officer, Detective Leaf, finished off. 'Interpol realises this and we express our gratitude. Without all those arrests, more criminals than is healthy would be roaming the streets and underground of Paris.'

He paused, and Carmelita wondered briefly what a 'healthy amount' of criminals would be. Personally, she thought, zero is just fine for me.

'So,' Detective Tea picked up where his partner had left off. 'We at I.S.P. have come up with a new strategy.' Carmelita saw the Chief stiffen, and recross his arms. The Detective paused, as if unsure as to what to say next. He absent-mindedly tapped his chin with his forefinger. The pause lengthened.

'What would this new strategy be, Detective?' she asked, now genuinely curious, as whatever it was had the Chief angry, and the Detective flustered.

'Well,' he began slowly. 'You, among all people would realise that the problem we have with the Cooper case is a lack of knowledge.' Carmelita raised an eyebrow, so the Detective explained. 'We don't know enough about Cooper himself, to see how his 'gang' works to be able to stop them. Do you agree, Inspector?' he asked.

Carmelita thought for a moment, then nodded. 'I agree, Detective Tea (and had to stifle some rebellious giggles as she realised she was rhyming). But to know how Cooper works, we'd have to capture or arrest one of his friends and make him spill the beans, and even you know that Cooper guards them with his life.' she concluded.

'That is what our team had been thinking for the last four years,' Detective Tea said. 'But there is another option…'

At this, Chief Barkley, who had tried to control his temper (and was doing a very good job too), yelled. 'NO! I'm not sending my best Inspector on such a risky mission!'

Carmelita blinked in surprise. Chief Barkley had actually admitted she was the best Inspector he had, the closest thing she had gotten to a compliment from him in her whole career. And what was this about a risky mission? Her already curious mind was working overtime, trying to piece together the fragments of information she had. But she needed more.

'A mission?' she asked, trying not to sound too curious, as the Chief copped a glaring from the three Detectives. 'What could a mission possibly have to do with Cooper?'

'Well,' Detective Tea began cautiously, looking to his comrades for help. They refused to meet his gaze, staring at the floor or their shoes. Carmelita's already thin patience was at breaking point, and she snapped. 'Look Detective, out with it. What mission involves the Cooper gang?'

The rattled Detective coughed, and then said. 'Actually Inspector, we were thinking of sending an undercover Interpol officer to try and join the gang, leaking information to Interpol every few weeks. And since you know their gang the bes-'

'**WHAT!**' Carmelita yelled, after realising what they were implying. 'YOU WANT ME TO WORK **ALONGSIDE** THAT…THAT…**CRIMINAL?**" She was almost visibly fuming, her fists had balled into dangerous weapons, her eyes burned with fire, and she shook with anger and disbelief.

'B-B-Be reasonable, I-Inspector.' stuttered Detective Leaf. 'This is an excellent way to get information out of Cooper without endangering lives or using taxpayers' money to bombard him with weapons and machinery. And you do need to make up for your previous mistakes while working on this case.'

That last comment earned Detective Leaf a look that could, and would, kill. He wisely became silent. The same didn't go for Detective Green. 'We have your disguise and story already waiting for you, Inspector.'

Carmelita smiled and crossed her arms in defiance, her nose raised slightly. 'What makes you think I'll accept this?' she challenged.

'You have to,' he said, as if it was obvious. 'It's an order.'

The fire returned to Carmelita's eyes, and her fists became lethal once more. But before she could blast the sap and tell him exactly what she thought of his 'order', Chief Barkley intervened.

'Inspector Fox,' he said gruffly, and with, was it sympathy? Kindness even? Carmelita couldn't tell, and the Chief ploughed on. 'I realise you don't want to do this (one look at her face and he knew this was a vast understatement), but think of the benefits Interpol will have, or the progress we'll make on the case. With an insider, we have more than a fair chance of catching that thief once and for all.'

Carmelita stood still, thinking long and hard. The three Detectives held their breath, as did Chief Barkley. The seconds ticked past slowly, as if teasing those waiting. Finally, Carmelita spoke.

'Alright,' she relented. 'I'll do it. For the good of Interpol _only_.' she added icily, turning to the Detectives huddled on the other side of the office.

Her boss smiled, then remembered the task at hand, and it vanished. 'Alright then, Inspector, on Floor Five, there is the disguise previously mentioned. It is waiting for you. Now, go!' he shooed her, and the three humbled Detectives out of his office. Carmelita got to the door when her boss yelled. 'INSPECTOR!'

Carmelita jumped. Turning, she replied. 'Sir?'

'Thanks.' he said gruffly, the kindness briefly returning to his squinting black eyes. Carmelita was about to smile back, then realised what, where and why she'd be spending the next God-knows-how-may-weeks. So she nodded curtly.

'Not at all, sir.' she said, and closed the door behind her.

Her boss sighed, leaning back into his worn leather chair, chewing at his cigar. 'That's what I was afraid of.'

A/N: Not that long I know, but it's hard, after so many short stories. It's also tiring, typing this much, even though I know there are people who type 50 pages per chapter (Heiduska ;P). But hopefully this'll last. Tell me what you think :-) And I haven't checked it, so I might redo it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Okay, I know the other one had no Sly in it, and I don't know if this one will, since it's mostly background. We shall see… And once more, I don't own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, or any buses. I did make up the hideout's design (what it looks like) and Carmelita's disguise, and I figure I should say so this time :D Anywho, enjoy….

Two days since the 'meeting', and Carmelita was ready, so to speak. In those two days since Detectives Green, Leaf and Tea had shown up and told her the new plan, her mind had been in turmoil. How could Interpol do this? _Help_ that blasted raccoon by giving him another member? Although, her cop side reasoned, they were getting desperate, after four years of having to admit that they couldn't put Cooper behind bars, and now this radical plan was the best they could come up with. 

And Cooper didn't suspect anything, since Carmelita had been chasing him, as herself, last night. Although he escaped with Zanzibar's largest emerald, Interpol did trace where his hideout was. Sly had taken the jewel from a curator (who it had been discovered was corrupt and money-grabbing, Carmelita's heart reminded her), and, after flirting with her, escaped and dashed off to his hideout.

Carmelita suggested they just bust in and nab him now they knew where he was, but the Detectives had disagreed, stating that this would not solve the problem, just 'delay' it. Which was just another way of saying 'even if you do catch him, which we doubt, you won't be able to hold him and when he escapes, so the problem will return'. But Carmelita suspected they didn't want to throw away all their hard work. Although it was excruciating to just stand there as Interpol FINALLY found out where Sly Cooper was, and just do NOTHING! Oooh, she was ropeable then.

But what work it was! After the meeting, she had gone to Floor Five with the Detectives, where she was informed that she would have to know the following like her own history if she was going to pass this off properly:

1) Her name was Carmen Socks (she was also warned that laughing at her own name would almost certainly cause suspicion, so please refrain yourself from doing it again, Ms. Fox). It was the closest name (phonetically, but still not too obvious) to her own, so she should be able to recognise it fairly well.

2) She was a 16 year old boy. They had deduced that Sly was most likely to trust someone his junior, and he wouldn't be distracted by a boy (Carmelita tried not to blush as she remembered that they had heard Sly flirting with her when they were tracking him to his hideout last night). She was also an orphan, as her parents had died in a car-crash when she was eight.

3) Carmelita had to be very careful in dealing with her disguise when any member of the gang was near her, lest she be caught.

4) No one else at Interpol were aware of this change, they would be informed that she had gone on a vacation indefinitely (in case there was something-or someone- inside the building that would leak to Cooper or his gang that something was going on), but this meant that if she got caught, she wouldn't be able to tell them who she was.

Carmelita had taken all of this in. She wasn't about to be caught by anyone, least of all by the likes of Cooper. And certainly because she wasn't careful with her disguise.

And her disguise was one of Interpol's finest. They had considered cutting off the Inspector's long braid for this mission, but couldn't get near the fuming fox with the scissors, so they hid her long hair in a tight cap, like a swimmer's cap, but with a wig attached to the top. The artificial hair was much like her own in colour and style (kind of curly) but much shorter, only long enough for perhaps one small curl on each lock.

She had dark contacts on, to hide her amber eyes, with spares 'just in case'. She had asked what the 'just in case' was, and got a superior look, as if it was _obvious_. She withheld the urge to scream at them, and kept her pride.

Her orange fur was dyed a blackish grey colour. She had refused vehemently when they intended to put permanent dye in her fur, but they had explained to the fiery vixen that if she only used a washout dye, her chances of getting caught would increase tenfold. So, after much persuasion and a lot of yelling, they finally got the reluctant Inspector to dye her sunset orange fur to the colour of night. The positive side was that it hid her beauty spot nicely.But her hips and chest were harder to hide. Her chest was held back with an all-over-corset type of thing, which she was assured wouldn't leave any permanent effects. Her hips were disguised by widening her waist with new technology that felt, and even bled, like real flesh, but was attached like jelly to her sides.

They couldn't, try as they might, change the Inspector's voice, so the story was that young Carmen's voice had not yet broken (which is why she had to look young). She was also clothed in loose, faded denim jeans, T-shirt and a baggy jumper, of darkish blue colour.

So there she was, a completely different person, on a worn out bus, heading to the outer suburbs of Paris, to try and _befriend_ the criminal she had been chasing for four long years. The one she had vowed to put behind bars. But she knew that to get inside, she had to act civil to him. After all, her heart reasoned subtly, he does the same to you. Well, perhaps more than civil…

And they were off again. Her heart versus her head. Her thoughts flew back and forth, some making her growl in anger (like that time that damned raccoon betrayed me and handcuffed me to that railing in Russia! her mind thought angrily), and some made her shiver with a denied pleasure (like what he did before that, whispered her heart). She shook her head, trying to clear the confusing thoughts from her mind. She could debate Cooper and his morals later, but right now she had a mission to do. She set her face, and tuned back in to reality.

The bus, now almost vacant of passengers, stopped at a dilapidated shelter, and Carmelita jumped off and followed the shaky directions to the Cooper hideout. After a couple of wrong turns, Carmelita finally made it to the hideout, just as the sun was sending gold and orange streaks across the sky.

Looking at it, Carmelita found she was surprised that the infamous Cooper gang would hide out in an old weatherboard house in a rundown suburb. She'd always imagined it to be some abandoned warehouse at the Paris docks. This place looked almost…cosy. C'mon girl, snap out of it, she scolded herself. Taking a breath, she walked up the gravel path to the house, and knocked on the door.

No one opened the door, but a voice spoke (well, boomed would be a better word) from an unknown source. 'What do you want?'

If it was supposed to be intimidating, it certainly worked on Carmelita. But she hid it under a mask of confidence (and black fur dye) and replied. 'My name is Carmen Socks, and-'

She was cut off as she heard an odd sound, and then realised the speaker was laughing at her! 'HEY! Don't laugh at my name!' she yelled, defending her false name from the voice, then continued. 'I've heard about your gang and I'd like to join.'

The voice seemed to splutter for a moment, then yelled. 'How did YOU find out about our gang?'

Carmelita froze. Oh no, quick, think fast, girl…ah ha! She turned to point down the street at a random house. 'My foster dad's _good friend's_ husband's son's co-worker's brother lives there.' She rattled out quickly. 'And he's noticed a hippo, a turtle and a raccoon coming in and out of this house at all hours. And a van too! I just put two and two together. Although they haven't!' she quickly added, assuring the voice that she was the only one who knew of their hideout.

The voice was silent. She continued very cautiously. 'So, I was wondering, uh, that is, I'd like to join you.'

There was silence. She could almost see the person behind the voice thinking, the gears in their head whirring at this odd situation. Carmelita's sensitive ears heard a _click_, then the door in front of her slowly opened to reveal…

A short green turtle. Not exactly what she was expecting from the booming voice she had heard. Her surprise must have shown on her face, and the turtle explained. 'It's a voice intensifier, it makes the speaker sound large and threatening.' He grinned. 'Something that really helps scare away those nosey girl scouts.'

Carmelita smiled (and her cop side cringed at her. You're being nice to a criminal! it admonished, but she shushed it). The turtle broke the brief silence.

'You may as well come in so we can figure out what to do in comfort.' he said, motioning for her to come inside. She stepped inside the small hallway, looking around. The bedrooms were to her right, a largish room to her left, a bathroom at the end of the hall, and a small archway down the hall on the left. The turtle took her this way, calling over his shoulder. 'I'm Bentley, by the way. Sly and Murray are over here.'

He walked into the next room, which Carmelita soon found to be a kitchen. Lovely colours, a pale orange and yellow blended in the tiles, and pleasant wooden cabinet doors. She was disrupted from her colour schemes as she heard a familiar voice call out. 'So Bent, did you deal with the 'intruder'?'

'Well that's what I wanted to talk to you guys about…so could you pause the Wrestling DVD for just a second!' Bentley said, slightly peeved that they were only half listening.

Carmelita peered from behind Bentley to see what the rest of the house looked like. It was like one large room, dining table on the left and couches and a TV on the right. There were other entertainment features too, like a stereo and computer. Large curtains covered tall windows that ran along the length of the far wall. The dining and coffee table were covered with coffee mugs, piles of paper and blueprints. A familiar cane leant against the wall, and there were a couple of dishes lying in the sink.

But Carmelita was observing the two other people getting up from the couch. A pink (or purple, Carmelita couldn't tell in the dim light) hippo was walking heavily to the kitchen. He seems friendly enough, her heart thought, I don't think I'll have any trouble being friends with him. Carmelita smiled, and returned the wave he gave her. But she didn't want to look at the raccoon she _knew_ was coming around the other side of the couch. Unfortunately for her cop side, her curiosity surpassed her, and she looked over to the leader of the infamous Cooper Gang.

Sly smiled over at her, and her breath caught. The same blasted raccoon she'd been chasing for years. She almost started cursing at him, but caught herself before she gave the game away, and forced a smile to her face. She decided that to do this properly, she would have to suspend the fact that she was Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox, and try to be Carmen Socks, orphaned boy trying to fit into the Cooper Gang. That wasn't so hard, was it? her heart chimed in, but she pushed it away, and listened as Bentley spoke.

'This guy found out about our gang, and want's to join us.' Bentley said bluntly. Carmelita was shocked at his rashness, and watched for any reaction from the other two members. The hippo shrugged, and said. ''The Murray' doesn't mind. His looks like a good kid, someone we can trust. What do you think, Sly?'

Sly had a neutral look on his face, and he eyed Carmelita closely. She could feel his eyes scrutinize her every move. Carmelita felt uneasy, and very hard to keep eye contact with him. His eyes were something she didn't see much of when she was chasing him. Normally she just saw his silhouette, and his calling card. She boldly stared into them from behind her disguise. His eyes were a deep chocolate, calming her, but still holding back his thoughts from her gaze, like they were behind a cover. This reminded her that she was also disguised, and none of these criminals knew who she was. She was anonymous. She smiled, liking this freedom, and began to introduce herself. 'My name is Carmen Socks. I'm 16 and I was asking Seňor Bent-'

She was interrupted by a loud bout of laughing from the pink/purple hippo. 'HAHAHAHAHAHA!'

'HEY! Don't laugh at my name!' Carmelita defended her fake name for the second time today. She put her hands on her hips, but she felt the jelly beneath them, and quickly lowered her hands. However, the hippo shook his head as he held his hands to his stomach, trying to stop his sides from splitting.

'Nonono,' he said, quite out of breath. ''The Murray' wasn't laughing at you. Pfft-HAHAHA!' He burst out into laughter again. 'Can you imagine 'Seňor Bentley' in one of those massive Mexican hats, with a poncho-heheheHAHAHAHA!'

His mirth was contagious, and soon everyone was laughing, even Bentley. The atmosphere was warm and pleasant, and everyone had sore cheeks by the time they had calmed down. Carmelita felt much more calm, feeling like she could feely pull this off if she could fit in like this.

'So,' Sly said conversationally, after they had caught their breath. 'What were you saying?' Carmelita had to think for a moment before she remembered.

'Oh yeah,' she said, very relaxed now after having laughed all her tension off. 'I was wondering if I could join your gang.' But she held her breath as Sly paused once again. After what she thought felt like ages, he spoke

'Well,' he said slowly. 'Is this going to be permanent or temporary? What are you skilled at? How could you help us? Have you had any experience?'

Carmelita felt like she was at a job interview, and she tried to stay calm and answer him the best she could. 'Well,' she started. 'So far, I think this will be a permanent thing, for now, although I'm not exactly sure. I figured it would be up to you if I was going to stay a long time or whether you'd send me packing before then.' She smiled at her joke, and was strangely relieved when Sly smiled back. 'I'm good at-' she froze. Oh No! she thought, I didn't think of a skill! She almost panicked and did some serious quick thinking to try and find something not to far from the truth to say. The pause had made Sly suspicious, a small frown on his face. She needed a distraction to buy her some time…

Wait a moment…

'A distraction!' she blurted. The gang looked surprised, and Murray was confused. 'What I mean is, uh, if you are really close to getting caught by the police, I can distract them, or at least lead them away by having them follow me instead of you. And they won't be able to see the difference, because they'll only see a silhouette, uh, because it'll be night.'

'Hmm,' Sly pondered, and Carmelita held her breath once more. After a moment, he smiled. 'Gee, we've never had this chance before. What do you think, Bentley?' He turned to his brainy friend, a smirk upon his handsome face. 'Do you think we should accept this fella?'

'Aww, c'mon Sly, don't toy with the poor kid anymore.' Bentley said. 'He's had enough stress for one day. Give him a straight answer.'

'Alright, _mother_,' Sly mocked. Then he turned to Carmelita and imitated an army soldier. 'Okay Carmen, here's the deal. First of all, yes, you're sticking with us now, kiddo.' He paused and Carmelita smiled her most brilliant smile at him. He gave her an odd look, so she regained her composure. He continued. 'Secondly, we've got a spare room, so we'll allow you to stay here the night, which also means that you won't go telling your friends where our hideout is. Oh, what are you going to do about your foster parents, and school?'

Carmelita tried to look as if she was thinking of how to tell her foster family, while she quickly schemed up an excuse not to. 'Uh, my foster parents don't really care about where I go. I was away for a month just recently, working in Spain, and they didn't say anything when I came back. And they don't send me to school.' She explained with a hardened expression, as if she was holding back her well-hidden emotion, instead of trying not to get caught.

'Oh,' Sly said, reading her pretend expression and sympathizing with the orphan. 'You don't have any parents. I understand.' He looked sad, and she felt an odd sympathy for him, even though hers was just a story. She shook her head, trying to feel distanced from it like a good police officer should. But she couldn't hold onto that weak feeling inside her. Through this short time, she felt as if she was truly becoming friends with these people. They weren't just criminals, like she'd been training herself to think. They were people, who had their own history, most of which was sad, or heartbreaking. She felt bad for lying to them. But Murray broke her out of her soul searching.

'Hey guys?' he said. 'It's already 11 o'clock, and I don't know about you guys, but 'The Murray' is tired.' And as if to prove it, he yawned a massive yawn, reaching to the ceiling with his arms out and stretching his jaw wide. It was infectious, and soon everyone was yawning.

'Maybe you're right Murray,' Bentley yawned. 'We can discuss this tomorrow. But for now, let's get some shuteye.'

Stretching as well, Bentley yawned once more. Then he pointed to the couch. 'You can sleep there for tonight, and we'll set up proper accommodation tomorrow. That all right?'

'Yeah, it's good.' Carmelita said, knowing full well that it was either this or on the street. They bade each other good night, all the lights were switched off, and Carmelita rested her tired and confused head on a cushion.

Then her wars began again.

You shouldn't feel this comfortable around thieves and criminals, her cop side growled angrily, making her feel guilty.

But they're nice people, even Sly, despite his reputation, her heart said.

No! her cop side rebutted, he's untrustworthy, he could be trying to kill you right now!

Sly's not like that, her heart reasoned, and you know it. He wouldn't kill someone unless it was absolutely necessary.

You can't trust their type, her cop side told her.

I trust them, her heart admitted.

I trust them? Carmelita thought. Yes, now that she thought about it, she did trust Sly and his gang. She'd known them only a small time, and she already trusted them to still be here the next morning, to not harm her while she slept, and to keep her in their gang like they promised. She trusted them with a lot.

Carmelita turned over, trying to get some sleep. But, her heart piped up again.

If you trust him with this much, maybe you could trust him with more?

She tried not to question it, and rolled over again. But you can't control your thoughts, and she found herself asking, 'like what?'

Your heart, it replied.

'No.' she whispered softly, more out of habit than because she actually meant it. And she knew it.

She rolled over once more, and tried to get to sleep. She could feel she was sleepy, but there were so many thoughts zooming around her head.

I'll deal with it all tomorrow, she decided. Feeling more relaxed, Carmelita snuggled into the couch, and her thoughts finally let her get some sleep.

She drifted off, her heart and conscience letting her dream. But her last thought, before she began to dream was …

He is very handsome, though…

A/N: Wow, a bit longer than the other one! Okay, so it might not seem like much to you, but to me I put two chapters in one here, so I'm tired. I wonder if all that yawning made anyone else yawn? Oh well, you can tell me if you like! And my chapters are getting longer, yay! Although the last bit didn't make as much sense as I'd like it to… oh well. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Okay, gonna get right into this, so I don't own Sly Cooper, Bentley, Murray, Carmelita, or any other things that I don't own. On with the story…

Carmelita woke to find herself on a strange couch that didn't look at all like her bed. She raised herself on one arm sleepily and looked around at the sunlight streaming in from long windows, illuminating the television, stereo and coffee table in the strange room.

'¿Que…adonde…quanto…?' she murmured, brushing her hair back from her eyes. She got a sudden shock when her hair stopped at her ears, and she froze. A moment later, her memories flooded back, and she knew exactly where she was.

'You speak Spanish?' a voice said from beside the couch. She jumped and turned to see an all-too-familiar raccoon, leaning against the wall next to one of the golden windows. His arms were crossed, and he had a confident grin on his face. Her heart warmed at the sight, and her cop side growled. They had stopped their truce, and were about to start warring again, when Carmelita stopped them.

'Yes.' she said bluntly, having to quickly stop herself from adding 'Ringtail' at the end.

He pushed himself off the wall, uncrossing his arms, a glint in his eyes that Carmelita didn't trust. 'Well,' he said. 'Maybe you could teach me over breakfast, eh Carmen?'

'Right. Sure.' she said, getting up from the couch and making her way to the dining table, rubbing the sleep briefly from her eyes. She cleared away some blueprints, looking at the sketches made on them. 'Hey, what is this?' she asked curiously.

Bentley came from behind the kitchen bench and scooped up the papers. 'They're just, uh, some plans for a heist, uh, not finished or anything.' He mumbled, throwing them into a cabinet drawer next to the table. 'But it's not important. Hey, who wants coffee?'

'I'll have one.' said Sly. 'And you too, Carmen?' he asked, looking over at Carmelita.

But before she could agree, Murray, who was already sitting at the table, interrupted. 'Aren't you a little young for coffee?'

Carmelita paused, not sure how to react. If she said yes, she'd miss out on a caffeine burst that'd wake her up for the day. If she said no, it might be suspicious that a 'mere 16 year old' is drinking coffee. Maybe she could split it halfway…

'Well,' she began slowly. 'I guess I could have some, but I haven't had much coffee before…' she trailed off, not sure if they'd buy it.

Murray looked at Sly. Sly looked at Bentley. Bentley shrugged. Sly looked at Murray, and shrugged. Murray nodded.

'Fair enough.' Murray said, voicing the gang's opinion. Carmelita let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, and looked over at Bentley, who was making her a coffee. She smiled.

Once they had all seated themselves, with bacon and eggs for breakfast (made by Murray, who is a very good cook) in celebration of their new member. No one talked for a couple of minutes as they ate their delicious food. After their initial hunger had ebbed (Carmelita especially), conversation began.

'So, Carmen,' Sly said, swallowing a mouthful of breakfast. 'What did you say before?'

Carmelita was confused. It showed, and Sly added. 'When you woke up. It sounded like Spanish.'

Then it clicked. 'Oh yeah, right. I said, oh, what did I say? I think it was just confusion. You know, like 'what, where, how'?'

Sly nodded. 'Okay. So, you speak fluently?'

'Something like that.' she said, smiling.

Bentley interrupted. 'Come on, hurry up you guys! We have a heist to plan, remember?'

Sly slapped his forehead, smiling. 'Ah, how could I forget?' he turned to Murray, who had already finished, then gulped down the rest of his food. With his food still in his mouth, he stood up and dumped his dishes in the sink with Bentley and Murray's. 'Cob ob Cabem.' He said, his mouth almost bursting with bacon and eggs.

Murray waved a hand dismissively at Sly. 'Don't worry Sly, Carmen will meet us in the other living room, right?' he said, looking over at her.

Carmelita, stuffing her face with breakfast so as to finish quickly (she couldn't leave it, she was starving!) nodded vigorously. 'Mm-hm!' she said (well, it was more of a noise than a word). Satisfied, the gang left for the other room.

Carmelita almost gave herself heartburn from eating so fast, and she washed down her breakfast with lukewarm coffee. Putting her dishes in the sink, she walked towards the living room. But her curiosity got the better, and as she neared the doorway, she slowed until she was creeping, and pressed herself against the wall, listening to the conversation on the other side.

'…don't know if we can trust him.' Bentley was saying.

'Come on Bentley, he's just a boy. What harm could he do?' Sly said.

So ISP were right, Carmelita thought ironically, as she listened to their argument.

'We've only known him one day!' Bentley exclaimed. 'We can't trust him!'

'What's not to trust? He's an orphan boy looking for a job. He's probably doing it for the cash.' Sly defended. 'Why shouldn't he have a temporary job here?'

'Because that's just it!' Bentley cried. 'It's just temporary! He could leak our hideout to the police! To Interpol! He could be a spy!'

Carmelita froze. Bentley didn't know how right he was. She suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Her heart wanted to be friends with these guys, they were such nice people. She realised she hated lying to them. It was like lying to a best friend. Not that I'd remember what _that_ was like, Carmelita thought ironically. Her sense of honour felt bad at not telling them the truth, and for eavesdropping. Sooner or later, she would have to decide what side was right. But not now. Quietly, she crept back to the kitchen, and then turned away and walked normally back to the living room. Their conversation stopped as soon as she neared the doorway, and when she entered, everyone was acting casually. Sly was draped over a lounge chair, Bentley was situated behind a laptop, which was connected to a projector, and Murray was fiddling with his gloves. None of them made eye contact with her, which in itself would be odd, even without hearing what she had. She tried to act normally.

'Hey,' she said in greeting. They all looked up at her and smiled awkwardly.

'Oh, hey Carmen. We're just planning a heist,' Sly said casually, grinning until Bentley glared him into silence.

'Am I allowed to join in?' she asked politely, her hands behind her back.

Murray and Sly looked at Bentley. The turtle frowned for a moment, looking at Carmen. She held her breath as Bentley summed her up. Finally, he gave her a small smile. 'Yes, you can. But be quiet during the slideshow.' he said, and the others relaxed.

'Bentley's our brains,' Sly explained, grinning at his friend. 'He comes up with all our plans.'

'Yeah, well, on with the plan.' Bentley said, although he couldn't hide the grateful smile that crossed his face. He picked up a small remote and clicked a red button.

'Okay guys, here's the deal…'

Carmelita listened closely as Bentley explained the heist they were going to pull off. In the Paris Underworld, a scientist by the name of Locco Hombre is working on an experiment to create an immortal race of soldiers. He has, surprising, come very close to success, which is no good for the general public. This has to be stopped, and the Cooper gang were going to be the ones to do it. Also, they'd hopefully catch the mad scientist, and leave him and the evidence for Interpol.

Carmelita absorbed as much of this as possible. She never knew they worked like this. She always assumed they were trying to steal some valuable object, and if it was convenient for them, they'd leave her a criminal to arrest. She never would have guessed that they actually went looking for criminals to stop.

Carmelita was thinking so hard on these thoughts she almost missed the plan, which was pretty basic, really. Sly would sneak in to his laboratory in outer Paris, after Murray drove them to the location and Bentley disarmed the security, and steal the vial that held the precious experiment.

'…and that pretty much sums it up.' said Bentley, switching off the projector. He turned to Sly. 'And I don't think I have to remind you Sly, not to flirt with Inspector Fox.'

Carmelita stiffened at the mention of her title. No, she assured herself, they didn't know she was Carmen. At least, not yet, her heart whispered. But she pushed it away, and tried to act like the person she was supposed to be.

'Carmelita?' she asked innocently. 'Who is that?'

Sly looked almost shocked, then smiled as he said. 'Who is she? Why, the most stubborn, irritable, beautiful vixen I've ever met.' A glint came into his eyes as he sighed, staring into space, a silly grin on his face. 'She's amazing.'

Carmelita was grateful that the black fur dye hid her blush, so she only looked a little stunned at Sly's explanation. Murray tried to explain to the seemingly confused fox.

'Carmelita's been chasing us for years now.' he said. 'She's kind of scary, and she's always yelling at us. But Sly just laughs it off. He and the Inspector have been through a lot together.'

'And every time he flirts with her, we risk getting caught ten times more!' Bentley added loudly, as Sly was snapped out of his daydreaming.

'Yeah, I know,' he admitted, grinning. 'But a woman like her, man, how can I resist?' he smiled over at Carmelita, who was too stunned to respond. He has feelings for you, her heart chimed in happily. But her cop side disapproved in masses. This is awful! it thought, that damned raccoon likes you!

That damned good-looking raccoon, her heart responded cleverly. Carmelita shook her head, clearing her mind. But Sly saw this as disagreement.

'You don't think so Carmen?' he questioned, an eyebrow raised. 'Well, you'll see tonight.'

'Tonight?' Carmelita asked, stiffening in shock.

'Yeah,' said Bentley. 'We do most of these heists as soon as we finish planning them. Why, do you have a problem with tonight, Carmen?' he asked suspiciously.

'No no!' she said quickly, raising her hands quickly to prove her innocence. 'I was just surprised is all. Tonight is fine.'

Bentley grumbled to himself and walked off to the kitchen, Murray in toe, and the group got to work, preparing for the heist to come. Sly smiled and stood, beckoning for Carmelita to follow him into his room. Carmelita gulped, her feelings still racing around her head, and her imagination running away with her. Sly let her in, closing the door behind the edgy fox.

'Gee, Carmen, relax.' he commented, clapping her good-naturedly on the shoulder. 'I just wanted to give you something.'

Sly walked over to his wardrobe, pulling out a stick from beside it. Looking closely at it, Carmelita saw it wasn't a stick, it was a copy of Sly's cane.

'It's for the heist.' he explained. 'I don't think Carmelita will be fooled by it, she's too smart for a simple trick like this, but Bentley reckons she has gone on holiday, which is really strange, but I guess she deserves it. Shame really, you won't get to meet her. But anyway, on any other officer, this should work well to fool them into thinking you are me.'

Carmelita stood, rooted to the spot with information overdrive. Trying to sound indifferent, she tried to answer some nagging questions.

'How did you know she was going on holiday, Sly?' she asked, getting an unusual rush from talking to him on a first name basis.

'Oh, Bentley's our info guy,' he said, not shy to promote his friend. 'He's a brilliant hacker, so he just hacked into Interpol's website, and got access to their private files. Great, right? So, Bentley found, and bookmarked on my request, Carmelita's file, and it said she's on holiday indefinitely.'

Sly seemed troubled by this, and he paused. Carmelita felt a strange urge to comfort him, but restrained herself. She stood there awkwardly, twirling the cane in her hands. Eventually Sly snapped out of it, grinning at Carmelita. 'Come on,' he said, opening the door for her. 'Bentley'll be angry we've waited 'precious heist time' already.'

He walked out of his room. Carmelita followed him down the corridor to the rest of the gang, her head swimming with emotions, information, new theories and new facts. She needed time to think, but didn't have the chance.

'Come on, you two!' Bentley called from the kitchen. 'We're behind schedule!'

'Schedule?' Carmelita questioned. Sly chucked, one that made her heart pleasantly warm.

'Yeah, he's pretty organised for a criminal.' He said. Carmelita just looked at him. Sly had a glint in his eyes, and she looked for any sign that he knew who she was. But she couldn't see anything in that chocolate gaze. She gave a small smile towards his joke, and they continued down the hall, to find the other members of the Cooper gang already packed and ready.

'But it's still daytime!' Carmelita said quickly, startled. Surely they wouldn't plan on robbing someone in broad daylight! 'You're going to do this in full daylight!'

'Don't be stupid Carmen,' Bentley scoffed. 'If we are ready now, we can go to the location, observe the area and tweak any problems with the plan. We need to see what the area is like before we begin.'

Carmelita stood there, shocked by his very logical answer. This was _definitely_ not what she expected. It made her angry that Bentley thought she was stupid, and her fists clenched, as well as her teeth. She saw that Bentley had dismissed it as a passing comment. Sly noticed her expression and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. 'Don't mind Bentley,' he whispered to the enraged fox. 'Sometimes words just slip out, you know? He doesn't mean it.'

Carmelita continued to glare at Bentley, who was busying himself looking over blueprints and hadn't realised his offence, but eventually she calmed down. She sighed, and gave Sly a small grin. 'Thanks.' she whispered back.

He grinned friendlily at her. 'No worries.' he said, and then turned to Murray. 'Hey Murray, when are we going?'

Murray wiped cookie crumbs off his face quickly. 'Oh, uh, ahem, 'The Murray' is ready whenever you are, Sly. I'll go and get my baby started.' he said, standing up from the dining table to go check on his van. Carmelita, however, didn't understand.

'Baby? What's he talking about?' she asked, looking at Sly questioningly.

'Come and see!' he grinned, and with that, the gang (including a suddenly very nervous fox) packed into Murray's beloved panel van, and made their way to the outskirts of Paris, to whittle away the time until the heist was set to go. 

And soon enough, it was.

A/N: Ah, I had a bit of a block while writing this story, so it might jump around a bit, I don't know, I can't read over these stories! Anyway, I hope you are enjoying yourselves, and hopefully I'll update soon! Oh, and Carmelita's translation to Sly was word for word, but if you don't get it just say so, right? Bye for now!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Alright, a heist! Let's find out what happens, shall we? And no, I do not own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray, Paris or any panel vans. Anyway, on with the story…

The sun set on the beautiful Paris skyline, turning everything a lovely shade of orange. Pigeons fluttered to the safety of cathedral rooftop, locals were retiring to rest for tomorrow's work shift, while tourists stayed up, exploring the city. The twilight atmosphere spread like a soft blanket over the peaceful city.

Except for a panel van parked in a discrete alleyway, and the four individuals inside.

Carmelita's feelings were all over the place. She was nervous, at being on her first heist; angry, at actually being _involved_ in a heist; had a hint of fear at being caught (by either Interpol or Sly); and worried, in case someone else got caught…

'Okay Carmen,' Bentley began. 'If all goes well, you'll have fallen asleep by the end of the heist.'

Carmelita, jumpy and agitated, leapt on that. 'What's _that_ supposed to me, turtle?' she accused defensively, her anger heating up momentarily, and her body stiffening. Bentley, quite shocked at her reaction, leant back and blinked repeatedly at her fierceness. Sly read her worry quickly, and settled the nervous fox.

'Easy Carmen,' he explained slowly. 'Bentley's not having a go at you, he's just saying that if everything goes well, we won't need to distract anyone, so you won't have anything to do.'

Carmelita's logic surfaced through all her emotions, and she saw instantly that she had got it all wrong. 'Oh. Uh, sorry 'bout that, Bentley.' she apologised, feeling kind of silly. Bentley, getting message from Sly that Carmelita was on edge, softened instantly.

'That's alright Carmen,' he said graciously, pushing his glasses further up his nose. 'I guess you're nervous about your first heist, right?' 

Carmelita gave a wan smile in reply. 'I thought so.' the turtle nodded, and then continued. 'But anyway, on with the briefing. Sly, since you got us some recon photos the other day, we've already got an access point, the guy we're looking for, as well as the vial and its whereabouts. A great start for the heist.'

'I try.' Sly said, grinning and rubbing his knuckles on his shirt. Bentley rolled his eyes, and kept talking.

'Yeah, thanks for your modesty Sly. Anyway, here's what'll happen. Sly, you and Carmen will go to the access point, Sly will go in, Carmen, you'll stay outside for the escape, Murray, you'll stay in the van for the getaway, and I will too, but I'll be the technical support. The rest will happen shortly, so let's start!'

The back doors were opened, and half of the gang jumped out. Bentley wished them luck, and shut the doors. Sly looked over at the nervous fox, who, if she could, would have paled visibly. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and smiled at her.

'Don't worry Carmen,' he soothed. 'We'll be in and out and gone. Now, let's go, before Bentley realises we haven't moved.'

Sly headed towards the nearest building, with the distracted fox following behind. Getting slightly frustrated, Sly turned and grabbed Carmelita's shoulders. Shocked, she looked up at him with confusion, and more than a little worry. He shook her roughly, at the same time saying, 'Snap. Out. Of. It. Carmen!'

Surprised, but fully awake now, Carmelita shook his hands off her. 'Okay, okay, I get the picture!' Satisfied at this reaction, Sly motioned towards the building they had come to stand beside.

'We'll climb up here for a better viewpoint,' he explained. 'and if I'm right, we should be able to access the main building from here.' And with that, Sly quickly scaled a nearby drainpipe. Looking down from the roof, he grinned at Carmelita.

'C'mon Carmen!' he challenged. 'Get up here all ready!' And he smiled, crossing his arms to see what she would do.

Carmelita wasn't that impressed by his athletic skills, after seeing him show off so many times before. She knew she could get up there on her own terms. Looking around, she spied a pile of boxes. They were only small, so she couldn't climb them to the building's roof, but she could use that small stack for a different purpose…

Stepping back for a run up, she prepared herself to sprint towards the boxes. Sly looked curiously at the young fox still in the alleyway. Carmelita ignored him momentarily, and concentrated on what she was about to do.

Suddenly, she raced towards them. Sprinting, she reached the boxes at full speed and _leapt off them_ in an amazing double jump that sent her to the roof easily. Somersaulting, she landed on her feet on the flat cement roof. She looked over at Sly, grinning when she saw his jaw open at her leap. 'Thought I was stuck, did you Ri-'

She clamped her mouth shut as she almost gave herself away. Damn it! she thought, almost blew my cover _again_!

But she found that her heart didn't mind if Sly knew who she was.

She frowned, pushing those thoughts away from her. She would have plenty of time to think when she was by herself. Sly had an odd look on his face, and Carmelita was worried he might figure out who she was. She held her breath as Sly opened his mouth to speak.

'Impressive, Carmen.' he said, and Carmelita let out a breath, her body relaxing and the adrenaline leaving her system. She smiled at him gratefully, and he returned it. Her heart grew warm at the simple act, but try as she might, she couldn't ignore it.

Bentley's muffled voice came from Sly's leg pouch. 'Sly! Come on, are you almost there yet!'

A look of worry fleeted across Sly's face, but he smiled and pulled out his binocucom, replying. 'We're almost at the entrance point, Bent.'

A shrill sound came from Sly's binocucom. Apparently, this wasn't part of the plan. But Carmelita didn't worry about Sly and Bentley's conversation; she was more interested in the binoculars that Sly was speaking into. Moments ago, she would have thought he was a little troubled upstairs for speaking to a pair of binoculars, but she was very surprised (and a little alarmed) when they talked back. She watched, dumbfounded, as their conversation rallied on between Sly and this odd piece of technology. Sly caught her gaze, and said. 'Hey Bentley, you mind if you explain to Carmen what this is, so his jaw will return to normal position? Good.' He called over to Carmelita, taking his eyes away from the piece. 'Hey Carmen! Bentley wants to talk to you.'

Carmelita looked dubiously at him, her mouth having closed when she heard Sly mention it. 'You want me to talk to a pair of binoculars?' she asked sarcastically. Sly nodded, another grin emerging on his face.

'It sounds silly, I know, but give it a shot.' He urged, passing her the device. She took it reluctantly, and looked into the eyepiece. Bentley stared back at her.

'Ah! Dios!' she yelled, dropping the gadget like it was a hot coal. Sly managed to catch it, while Carmelita was staring at it in astonishment. Sly gave her a small smile, reassuring the startled fox.

'Don't worry, Carmen, its Bentley's new technology. But we don't have time now, so I'll explain it later.' he said, and then turned back to the binocucom, finishing a rushed conversation with Bentley, then shoved it back in his leg pouch.

'Alright, enough fooling around,' he said in a serious tone. 'We've got to get to that entrance.' He looked briefly around, spotted what he wanted, and walked over to another side of the roof. He beckoned for Carmelita to come over, and together they looked at a wire leading into the dark Paris night.

'Alright Carmen,' he said calmly. 'we're going to walk across this to get to the other building.' Sly gave Carmelita a small smile, and held out his hand. Carmelita looked into those chocolate eyes again, and her heart told her she could trust Sly no matter what. Even if she (or her conscience, really) didn't want to.

Sly stood on the edge of the rooftop, the moon showing the gleam of his eyes, and the gentle smile on his face. And Carmelita found that she, not her heart, not her conscience, but she, could trust him completely. She put her hand in his, which closed firmly around her own. She looked up at him and gave him one of her most brilliant smiles (not intentionally, of course).

'Hold on,' he said, and began walking on the thin wire with amazing skill, slowly pulling Carmelita behind him. 'Oh,' he added. 'and don't look down.'

Carmelita instantly snapped her eyes up from their slow descent to the wire and beyond. Sly smiled to himself as he felt Carmelita stiffen. How did he know _that_ would happen? he thought jokingly. But he kept a hold of her hand and led her safely to the other rooftop. They jumped down from the wire, and Carmelita quickly let go of Sly's hand.

'What?' he joked. 'Think I have cooties or something?'

Carmelita pretended to agree, nodding her head and wiping her hand on her pants. 'Yuck, Cooper germs!' she said, and then contradicted herself by laughing. Then Bentley's voice came again from Sly's leg pouch.

'Hurry up you guys, stop mucking around and let's move!' the shrill voice yelled.

'Okay okay,' Sly whispered quietly, then added to himself. 'No need to bust your shell.'

'I heard that!' Bentley said, and Carmelita had to work hard to stop her giggling. She had bent over double and clamped her hand over her mouth. Sly smiled, then became serious, and walked over to a dilapidated opening in the slanting roof. Carmelita stood straight, and watched him ease the covering off the gap, placing it beside him. He turned back to her.

'You wait here, Carmen. I'll go in, get the vial and get out. You'll escape with me in case I need a double.' He explained, looking at Carmelita with an unhidden concern in his eyes and voice. Carmelita sobered, and she nodded briefly. He looked at her quickly, that odd glint in his eyes again, and then he slipped into the gap and disappeared into the darkness.

Carmelita stared after him, listening as he began talking with the brains of the Cooper gang. 'So Bentley, where do I go from here?'

The question seemed to ring true for Carmelita as well.

She sat down besides the opening, her legs stretched out in front of her. She leant back on her arms and looked across the skyline. She deliberately tried not to think about how she felt about a certain raccoon. She dusted the terracotta tiles beneath her fingers, but her thoughts crept in just the same.

He really is very nice to you, her heart began softly.

No, her cop side demanded, but there wasn't the force behind it that there used to be.

Her heart continued anyway. Why shouldn't you return his kindness? it questioned.

It's wrong, her cop side insisted, but doubts had settled in it too, as it asked quietly, isn't it?

Maybe not, her heart replied mysteriously, after all, following your logic has got you stuck in a job where no one respects you, and you're worked like a slave for nothing. Perhaps you should try listening to your heart, it suggested.

I can't, her cop side whispered, I couldn't, could I?

Just accept the fact that you like Sly, her heart pushed. But she was still unsure, biting her lower lip in thought. She ran her hand through her short hair. Suddenly feeling a little mischievous (and trying to take her mind off the pressing topic she found herself in), she looked around the deserted streets, then slipped her wig off her head, and used both hands to free her long hair from the confines it had been in for the last couple of days. She sighed, and the soft breeze flowed through her locks as she loosened it with her fingers. Feeling utterly relaxed, she ran her fingers through her dearly missed curls, lifting it from her head to bring air to underneath the weight of her hair.

A noise came from the opening, and Sly crawled rapidly out of the gap. Carmelita gasped, and ran around the roof to another side, before hurriedly jamming the wig back over her hair.

She had just adjusted it when Sly called out. 'Carmen? Carmen!' she stepped back into view, and before she could mention her reason or excuse for hiding, Sly roughly grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to the corner of the roof. 'Come on, buddy,' he said, his quickness giving away his nerves. 'time for the quick escape, right?'

Carmelita nodded, and Sly gave her a quick smile before stepping out onto the wire that had led them there, and with Carmelita holding onto his hand once more, the two sped across the line to the flat rooftop they began on. Sirens whirred, their lights shining upon the walls of the building, and illuminating the alleyway.

Which was deserted.

Carmelita looked down and noticed. 'They abandoned us?' she almost squealed in an unusual case of fright. Sly motioned for her to follow him, explaining along the way to another rooftop.

'No, I told Murray to get them outta there,' he said quickly. 'The cops turned up just as I was leaving, and I didn't want them to be caught. Plus,' he added, grinning. 'You and me are more than a match for almost any police that try to catch us, right?'

Sly had that glint in his eyes again, and Carmelita tried to find a sign that he knew who she was, but she couldn't tell, and he said quickly. 'Keep your eyes on the path ahead, Carmen.' And she supposed that would have to do for now.

They stopped after they had gotten a few rooftops distance between themselves and the police cars. But there were some officers who wouldn't give up.

Sly looked down at them, sizing them up. 'Well,' he said. 'She's no Carmelita, but there is a cop down there that you can lead astray while I go and get the guys. Go along the path we've been going on, and we'll meet up with you soon. Have you got that cane I gave you?'

And Carmelita realized she had left it on the rooftop when she had sat down to wait for Sly. She cringed as she imagined the lecture he'd give her. 'Don't worry,' he said, grinning as he pulled it out from behind his back. 'We all forget some things.'

He handed her the wooden imitation and dashed off in the direction of the other Cooper gang members. She turned to where the cop, probably a fellow officer, was, and prepared to lead them on a wild goose chase.

The officer yelled from the road. 'Halt! You're under arrest Cooper!'

Carmelita grinned, looking down at the dark blob in the distance. So, she thought, they think I'm Sly do they? Let's see how far they're willing to take that.

And she ran off into the night.

A/N: I know, it's only half a heist, but if I kept going it might be this massive block of writing, so I split it up. So the next one is like the chase and afterwards. And I still can't read over these, so tell me if I've screwed up somewhere. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Sorry about the wait! My computer wouldn't upload my stories to documents! Anyway, last time I left in the middle of a heist (sorry about that!). So now we'll see who Carmelita is running from, and what the cop's intentions are…And once more, no, I do not own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray, or any police artillery. I did invent the officer that chases Carmelita, but I'm sure it's not that important. On with the story!

Carmelita leapt onto an adjacent rooftop and ran. The officer shouted and ran on the road beside the houses. She aimed a gun up at Carmelita, and fired. The young fox was expecting bullets to fly at her, and was most surprised when a lightning blast came hurling at her. She almost stopped as she realised what the officer was using.

My gun! she thought angrily. I'm 'on holidays', and this officer just takes my weapons! Oh, she's going down, she thought angrily, leaping over a small alleyway. She paused and turned to the officer behind her.

Wow, she is really far behind! Carmelita thought, more than a little surprised. I wasn't running that fast, was I? She looked at the distance covered. It's not far enough, she thought, I'll wait for her, then keep going, so we'll get far enough from the gang.

She caught what little breath she had lost, as the officer below her ran to where Carmelita was. 'Stop!' she yelled. Carmelita rolled her eyes. I already have, she thought, but turned fully to face the officer. Eventually she got close enough for Carmelita to see her properly. She was a tall wolf, greyish fur, dark hair and (Carmelita frowned) not much clothing, a tank top and a miniskirt. Who wears that to work? Carmelita thought, especially at Interpol!

'Halt!' the wolf yelled again. Getting frustrated, Carmelita jumped down from the roof. Not a smart idea, but she was getting angry with this officer! The wolf walked up to Carmelita cautiously (she had landed in a small alley, and the officer couldn't see her very clearly). 'Put your weapons down, Cooper! You're under arrest!'

Carmelita laughed inwardly at the officer. She had realised that this was Officer Lax, one of the bimbos from her level, and one of the worst and most jealous girls at Interpol. How she got this case Carmelita didn't know. Well, she had an idea, but she didn't like to think about the quite disgusting situation that Lax must have been in (or who she was on). Carmelita stuck her tongue out in disgust. Bleh! she thought, somewhat childishly, that's gross!

Officer Lax moved forward slowly, with Carmelita's gun held out in front of her. It was shaking mightily, and Carmelita frowned at the lack of control the Officer had on her precious gun. She decided to tease the girl, and the fact that she had spread half of almost all the awful rumours about Carmelita made it all the more easier to put the girl down.

'You really should have picked a gun you could control, girl.' she said from the shadows of the alley. Confusion spread on the officer's face.

'You're not Sly Cooper.' she said, lowering Carmelita's gun. Carmelita was offended by this action, and brought the fake cane up as a threat.

'That doesn't mean I'm not dangerous!' she said defensively. The officer's eyes had become adjusted to the dark now, and she looked at Carmelita and giggled. 'Hey!' Carmelita yelled. 'What's so funny, girl?' she scowled at the officer, who had a hand over her mouth to stifle her girly giggles.

'You're just a boy!' she said, smiling at the scowling fox. 'Of course you're not dangerous. What are you, his nephew or something?' the tall wolf paused, then asked. 'But why did you run? You haven't committed any crime; we only want the Cooper gang.'

'I am part of the Cooper gang!' Carmelita shouted at the wolf, determined to prove her worth. But the officer just laughed.

'Oh, sure you are, kid!' she joked. 'I can just imagine that handsome Sly Cooper working with a kid to pull off a robbery. What would you do? Hold his cane for him?' She laughed at her own joke. Carmelita smiled.

'Actually,' she said confidently. 'I'm the distraction. By now, Sly Cooper is long gone.' And she grinned haughtily at the wolf

'Oh, I don't mind,' the officer said casually, catching Carmelita off guard. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. What! she thought, What kind of officer lets a criminal _go _like that? The officer looked over at Carmelita's surprised face and lowered guard (or cane) and stepped forward to the shorter fox. She cupped Carmelita's face in her palm, saying. 'At least I have good company, right? And what gorgeous company it is.'

Carmelita stepped out of the wolf's reach, and felt herself back against a brick wall. She grabbed her cane more forcefully, crying. 'Back off, lady! You don't want me to hurt you!'

The officer smirked, and stepped forward again. 'I don't think you could, boy. I think-'

But she was cut off, as a golden edged cane hooked under Carmelita's arms and lifted her easily from the alleyway to the comfort of the rooftops above. Carmelita looked over at her familiar rescuer, who winked at her, before turning back to the wolf.

'You shall have to forgive my rudeness, Officer,' he called from above to the startled wolf. 'but this boy has spent enough time in your company for one night.' There was a clear humour in his voice, and his bade his farewell. 'Until next time, Officer!' and they were away, leaving the promiscuous wolf in the alley behind them.

Sly and Carmelita ran along the rooftops to the gang's van, parked casually outside a take away pizza place. They dropped down just behind it and quickly climbed in. Sly broke the brief silence, turning to Bentley and Murray.

'Hey guys,' he said, that mischievous tone returning. ' I went to go and get Carmen, and you wouldn't believe where he was.'

Bentley sighed. 'Where?' he said, humouring his friend.

'In an alleyway two streets down from the heist, flirting with a cop.' he said, grinning.

'HEY!' Carmelita said indignantly. 'I was not flirting! That…officer, was coming on to me! I was trying to get her to go away!'

'Sure, sure,' Sly joked. 'I'm just glad I turned up early enough to stop you guys from whatever business you were up to.'

Carmelita fumed, and the others laughed. 'Relax Carmen,' Murray said from the driver's seat. 'We're just kidding. I'm sure your intentions were good.' And they laughed again. Carmelita, knowing now it was a joke, joined in, having a o at the raccoon next to her.

'Well, lucky it wasn't Sly in that situation,' she started. Bentley caught on and added. 'Yeah, otherwise, we wouldn't have finished the heist yet!'

Murray, Bentley and Carmelita laughed, while Sly pretended to look hurt. 'Hey! No fair! I'd never do that.'

Bentley snorted. 'Sure, and all that time you jeopardised our heist to flirt with Carmelita?' he asked sarcastically.

Sly grinned. 'Yeah, but that's Carmelita! Come on, you can't _not_ spend time with her!' Carmelita hid her delighted smile behind a hand, but her eyes shone at the compliment.

Murray and Bentley replied in unison. 'We can.'

'Aww, you guys have _no_ romantic imagination!' Sly joked. He looked over at Carmelita and winked. 'Fine looking men like us know what I'm saying, right Carmen?' Carmelita laughed at his antics.

'I think we should get back to the hideout.' she said smiling. Sly threw his hands to the air.

'The support I get around here,' he said, grinning. 'You couldn't see it with a magnifying glass.' And the gang, and Carmelita, cracked up again.

The van slowed and came to a halt, beside the hideout. It was late at night, and the gang crept into the hideout as quietly as they could, leaving their equipment in the van. After all, Bentley reasoned, they could get them out in the morning, and his security was more than enough to keep the van secure for the night.

The gang walked down the corridor, past the kitchen and sat at the dining table. Sly slumped into a chair, Bentley seated himself, and Murray sat down. Carmelita sat next to Sly and Murray, with Bentley at the head of the table.

'Okay,' Bentley began. 'the heist went according to plan. The vial, Locco Hombre and all the evidence has been set up for Interpol to find. We stopped his creation, and we didn't get caught doing it.' Bentley smiled at the gang. 'I think we did well today gang.' He looked at Carmelita, kindness shining behind his glasses. Carmelita saw this and smiled back. An understanding has been reached, she thought, and I think he trusts me.

'Well, 'The Murray' is tired.' said Murray (would you believe it?) and yawned hugely, his jaw spreading widely. Soon everyone was yawning, and Sly spoke up.

'I think you're right, pal.' he said, getting up. But stopped mid stretch. 'Oh. Carmen, we haven't got a bed for you yet.' He looked over at Bentley, who was doing some quick thinking.

'Well,' he said. 'There's a mattress in the attic, but we wouldn't be able to get it down til tomorrow morning. Do you mind sleeping on the couch again?'

Carmelita shook her head firmly. 'Don't worry, Bentley,' she assured. 'One more night on a couch won't kill me.' And she walked over to the living room.

The others saw this as a signal to go to sleep (if they stayed up, they wouldn't be able to make much noise, as Carmelita would hear everything and not get a wink of sleep) and bade her goodnight, before retiring to their rooms.

Carmelita smiled to herself. Perhaps sleeping here had its advantages, she thought, at least I get a bit of private time. The thought had barely entered her mind when her heart began again.

You like Sly Cooper, it stated bluntly.

No! her cop side rebutted instinctively. It paused. Well, maybe as a friend…

And maybe more? her heart asked.

Well, perhaps, her cop side suggested reluctantly.

Carmelita flopped over on the couch. She didn't need this. She had other things to worry about. That Officer Lax, for one. And whether Sly _really_ knew who she was. She couldn't seem to figure out what he really knew. But do you think her heart would listen?

You love him, it said.

What? No! her cop side defended, I can't! I couldn't. I…

You're making excuses, her heart pointed out, why can't you accept it? He's handsome, charming, loyal, brave, what's not to like?

I just can't! her cop side said weakly.

I think you can, her heart coaxed, you can love him, like he loves you.

He doesn't love me! Her cop side said, a little flustered at such a suggestion, I'm just a cop to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

Oh really? her heart said mysteriously. We'll see…

Carmelita rolled over again. Okay, maybe private time wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Rolling over again, she found she couldn't sleep. Sitting up, she looked around the quiet house.

A clock ticked in the kitchen, and there was hardly any light. Carmelita looked towards the windows for moonlight, before remembering it was a new moon tonight. She stared at the curtains. I haven't been outside yet, her mind thought, and stood up.

Creeping to the door, she silently pushed the handle down, and opened it. Peeking out just a crack, she gazed upon the yard. It was almost empty, a small shed in the far back corner, and tatty lawn covering the rest of the garden. Carmelita didn't feel comfortable about sitting in such an open place, and stood at the doorway for a moment, thinking. She looked up at the guttering of the roof, and smiled.

Slowly, she closed the door behind her, and walked out a few paces. It was as dark as an inkwell outside, but she turned back to the house, and could just make out the roof guttering. She looked at one of the supporting pillars of the small veranda. She looked up. And she began to climb.

Reaching the small hideout's rooftop, she leant back on the cool tiles and focused her eyes on the stars. There were so many more she could see here than at her apartment. Her mind became peaceful, and she gazed up at the heavens, seeing the stars twinkle and returning their fondness. She felt so small, looking at these amazing suns millions of miles away. She believed she could truly loose herself, just gazing at the stars.

Carmelita felt as though the stars were absorbing all her troubles. She didn't feel afraid that the gang would find out who she was, or that she would fail her boss, that it was wrong to be friends with criminals, to be in love with a thief, or that she may never live a full or happy life without a certain raccoon. She felt utterly calm, looking up at the universe.

'Peaceful, isn't it?' Sly asked. Carmelita jumped. Okay, maybe she wasn't _that_ relaxed. She watched Sly as he sat next to her, and looked up at the sky. She followed his gaze, the peace returning.

'Why are you here?' she asked.

Sly looked over at her, before saying. 'I could ask you the same question.' Carmelita turned her head to look at him, once again wondering how much this secretive raccoon knew. Sly stared back into her bright brown eyes, an odd glint returning. Carmelita broke their connection, turning back to the sky.

'I couldn't sleep.' she said, answering the not so cryptic question. Sly kept looking at her. She asked him again. 'Why are you here?'

Sly lay back on the cool tiles, and Carmelita's heart began beating a little faster at his closeness. 'Bentley has a lot of security on the house,' he said honestly. 'A silent alarm went off when you came out here. He woke me up to check it out, because I'm the sneakiest.' He folded his arms behind his head, gazing up at the constellations in the sky. 'He was worried for your safety.'

Carmelita turned her head, her cheek pressed against the terracotta beneath her. Her eyes were widened in surprise at the unexpected news.

Sly sensed this, and moved his gaze to Carmelita's surprised face. 'Oh yeah,' he said. 'Bentley cares for you like a brother. Like us. I mean, he doubted you at first, but I knew he'd warm up to you.' He sat up, leaning back on his hands. 'Speaking of warm, there seems to be a lack of it out here. Care to come inside now?'

Carmelita looked once more at the stars, who winked at her, then stood up. 'I think I will.' she said, holding out her hand to Sly for him to get up. But he was already up and standing beside her. She quickly dropped her hand to her side.

Sly ignored it, and walked over to the edge of the roof, smiling at her before jumping down. Carmelita watched as he landed, light as a feather onto the grass below. Carmelita looked at the distance. Sure, she could jump, but she felt that she would jar her knee, or something equally as important. She considered her options. Swinging on the guttering would probably break it. Hmm… what was that?

A piece of paper caught Carmelita's eye. It was wedged underneath a loose tile, only a corner sticking out. What an odd place to put something, she thought, pulling it out of its hiding place.

A seal on the paper made Carmelita gasp softly.

Interpol.

I.S.P to be exact.

She shoved it quickly into her shoe, looking down to see where Sly was.

'What was that, Carmen?' a voice from behind her asked, startling the young fox. She whirled around, to see Sly on the other side of the roof's edge. How did he get up here so quickly? she wondered. He couldn't have seen much on the paper, her mind thought, but he still saw it.

'Not much Sly,' she said, trying to act calm. 'But, uh, could I, uh, ask for some help down, please?' she said shyly. Sly smiled.

'Sure,' he said kindly, making Carmelita feel awful about lying to him, again. He walked over to her and said. 'I'll jump down, and catch you when you come down.' 

Carmelita nodded, and Sly jumped down, performing exactly the same move, and impressing Carmelita just as much. She shuffled to the edge as Sly called softly. 'Okay Carmen, jump down.'

Carmelita paused, gaining her balance so as not to tip over the edge, and swung her feet over the edge of the gutter. Taking a moment to look for Sly, who was smiling up at her, she pushed herself off.

Right into Sly's arms.

'Got you.' He said as his hands caught Carmelita under her arms, before putting her gently on the ground, his arm curled around her, just above her waist. They stood like that for a moment, Carmelita looking at Sly to see what he was thinking. He looked _curious_, a small grin on his face. She silently pulled away from his inviting embrace, still looking into his eyes.

'Tell me Carmen,' he said softly, the curiosity clear in his tone. The dim light of the stars shone on his handsome features, and Carmelita feared for the worst as Sly spoke. 'What are you wearing?'

Carmelita looked confused for a moment, and an unusual tingle shot up her spine. She looked down at her clothes. 'A jumper, pants-'

Sly cut her off, still curious. 'No, there's something hard under your jumper. What is it?' he asked, looking down at her jumper. His fingers began to lift the edge of her jumper, brushing against her fur. Carmelita panicked for a moment, grabbing her jumper and pulling it down quickly to stop Sly, again stepping away from him. Her cheeks burned, but he could see nothing under her black fur.

'It's, uh, it's…' she stuttered, backing away and thinking quickly. She most _definitely_ couldn't let him see the corset under her jumper. What else do you wear under a jumper?

'A bulletproof vest!' she blurted suddenly. Sly looked at her quizzically. She tried to explain what she knew nothing about. 'Uh, my uncle gave it to me after, uh, that riot in Marsonne.' She said, vaguely recalling a file she had dug up years ago.

Sly examined her, his chocolate eyes narrowed as he tried to decide whether to believe this odd story that had gotten Carmelita so flustered. After a moment, with Carmelita's lungs tingling from holding her breath, Sly nodded.

'Fair enough,' he said evenly. 'The people in this neighbourhood are pretty untrustworthy.'

Carmelita saw she had hurt Sly with her lies as he turned to go inside. 'Sly, wait,' she said stretching her hand out after him. He looked back at her, frowning. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find the right words. Her eyes begged him to forgive her. She tried again to say something, but still nothing. Only one word came to mind.

'Sorry.'

Sly looked at her. Suddenly feeling angry with him for not believing her, she crossed her arms and frowned at her shoes. After a pause, she heard him open the door and shut it behind him.

Glumly, she went inside, collapsed on the couch and let the blanket take the tears from her eyes. It was like this that she drifted into sleep.

A/N: Aww, sad ending. Don't worry, it won't last forever! But her stay couldn't be perfect, otherwise it wouldn't be interesting! But we are probably near the halfway mark (unless I get massive bouts of inspiration), so things should be fairly interesting the next couple of chapters. Until then!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Okay, we ended on a sad note last time, so hopefully, things will be looking up this time! As I have said repeatedly, I don't own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray or any apartments. I did make up I.S.P., but it's not worth suing over (but it would be nice if you said it was my idea!). Anyway, the story!

Carmelita woke to the sound of shuffling in the kitchen. She sat up, looking behind her to see what was making that noise. The whole gang was moving quietly in the kitchen and dining room. Sly saw she was awake and froze. Carmelita got up slowly, keeping eye contact with the Master Thief as she moved. He watched her get up, and walk cautiously over to him. The others stopped what they were doing, their eyes drawn to this confrontation.

'Sly?' she whispered. Sly turned his back on her. She reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder. 'I'm sorry. I…I…there's just…some things that are secret. You know?' Sly turned back to face her, her hand slipping off him. He looked into her eyes. Pure honesty shone back out at him. He suddenly felt bad about prying, when it was obvious that whatever it was had a special, secret meaning to Carmelita. And after all, didn't they all have secrets?

'Sorry Carmen.' he said apologetically. 'It's just that sometimes you act so odd…' He gave her an odd look again, and she smiled. 'Hey, that's me. Carmen Socks, freaky fox.' she joked, then froze as she realised how obvious she'd made it for Sly to connect Fox to her real self. But the gang were too busy laughing at her clever rhyme. She smiled at the absurdity of the situation.

They continued to laugh for a fair few minutes, and eventually Carmelita had to bring some sense back into the day. 'Hey! It wasn't _that_ funny!'

Sly looked up at her, happy tears in his eyes. He wiped them away with his palm. 'I guess not,' he said smiling. 'But maybe because it was so unexpected it was.'

She smiled, enjoying the fact that she could make everyone laugh. As everybody calmed down, she asked. 'What are we doing today?'

Bentley smiled. 'Actually Carmen, after pulling off a number of heists and recon missions in only a few days, we're taking a break for now.'

Carmelita smiled. 'You mean, like free time?' she asked. Bentley nodded. 'Yes!' she whispered to herself.

'Yes,' he said. 'but that doesn't mean we have nothing to do today…'

And Carmelita, Sly and Murray (after taking the headphones out of his ears) listened as Bentley reeled off his list of chores. At the end, they had all lost hope in having a free day today. Bentley looked at them all.

'Hey, it's not me! This stuff _has_ to be done!' he insisted. But it didn't improve their moods. Murray was the unexpected hero of the day, stirring them all to begin this hopeless list.

'Come on, guys!' he urged. 'The sooner we start, the more free time we'll have in the afternoon! We could go watch a movie later!'

Eventually it got them going. 'Murray's right,' Sly said, getting to his feet. 'Think of the movie we'll get to see later!'

Carmelita sighed. 'Alright, let's get stuck into it, shall we?' she said reluctantly, hauling herself to her feet as well.

And, after a hurried breakfast of toast, they began.

The first on Bentley's list was getting a mattress down for Carmelita, as she had slept on the couch long enough. They put it in the first living room, close to the others. That was dusty work, and Murray did almost all the lifting.

The second chore was to clean the house. Carmelita thought that other things might have rated higher on priority, but Bentley told her that the house had been getting progressively worse. So, in three hours, the whole house, inside and out, was spotless. Not bad for a bunch of bachelors, right?

The third task was to check all the security systems, which Bentley performed almost solely (he needed Sly's help for some access points). After an hour of Bentley running from one side of the house to another, it was lunchtime.

Everyone was thoroughly tired, dusty, sweaty or mentally exhausted by the time 12:00 had rolled around. Murray whipped up a quick lunch of sandwiches (he really is a good cook) and they took them out in the sunshine to eat (and so they didn't put crumbs all over the newly cleaned house).

It was a lovely sunny day. Carmelita was lost in thought, and barely touched her sandwich til Murray snapped her out of it by giving her a playful shove that almost sent her sprawling. She coughed, smiled at Murray and quickly scoffed the rest of her sandwich. Dusting the crumbs off her hands, she stood up.

'You really were hungry, weren't you little buddy?' Murray said, surprised that such a little person could eat so fast. Carmelita grinned at him.

'Guess so.' she said. Then she turned to Bentley. 'Any more jobs, Capitan Bentley?'

Bentley smirked at his new title of 'Captain'. 'None left, son.' he said, acting like an army commander, holding his nose up high. Carmelita smiled.

'Then can I go for a walk?' she asked politely, her hands clasped behind her back. Bentley looked carefully at her, only half pretending to consider this. After a moment, he nodded.

'Be back before sunset.' he demanded. Carmelita smiled one of her most dazzling smiles, and he added. 'If you're not back before sunset, you won't have a home tonight.' he threatened. That sobered the young fox, but she thanked Bentley as much as she could before he shooed her away. She thanked him once more and ran into the house, putting her shoes on and leaving via the front door.

Carmelita strolled through the neighbourhood, finding a trashed park with a small playground and park bench in the little block of grass. She walked over to the park bench, covered in graffiti, and sat down on its faded grey timber. Looking around for any unwanted company. There was a man taking his dog for a walk on the other side of the park, and an elderly woman getting of a bus carrying bags of groceries. She bent down and slipped the crumpled paper from her shoe, smoothed it as much as she could, and opened the paper up.

It was definitely from Interpol, the emblem on the paper told her that quite clearly. She read the letter. It said:

Mr. Socks,

You have now been in the company of wanted criminal Sly Cooper and gang for three days. We require information on them. Write a short report on crucial information, and leave it outside the Cooper gang's residence in two days, in their mailbox. It will be collected within the hours of 4:00-5:00am on the third day. If you fail to do this, we will arrest you, as well as the gang.

Regards,  
Chief Barkly.

Carmelita read, and re read the letter. It certainly didn't make sense, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Her gut feeling felt that something was fishy. She read it again, scrutinizing every word.

Then she spotted it.

Barkly. It was spelt wrong.

Carmelita smiled a triumphant smile at the piece of paper in her hands. It was a trick. And if she was right in guessing, Bentley had been the one to set it up. Oh, clever, she thought, but not clever enough!

She put the paper into her pants pocket, not as worried with hiding it as she had been before. She smiled and stood up, walking across the park and plotting her revenge against Bentley.

Walking, she came across the same bus line that she had caught the first day of this mission.

This mission…

She slumped down beside the bus stop, feeling depressed. What was she going to do when the _real_ letter from Interpol came? Would she give information on her new friends, the first she'd had in a long, long time, or would she abandon the service she had worked for since what seemed like forever? Did she really love Sly Cooper? How much longer could she hide the fact that wasn't Carmen Socks?

These thoughts raced through her mind as the hot noon sun bore down on her. Something beeped at her, and she looked up to see the old beat up bus stop at the bus shelter. She was going to wave it on, when an exciting thought struck her. Perhaps she could return to her apartment, just quickly?

She stood up quickly, dusting her dirty clothes off, and walked over to the bus, fishing some coins from deep in her pockets. She stepped on the bus, but the bus driver said. 'This is the end of the line, boy. From here, the bus goes back the way it came.'

'That's exactly what I want,' she said, handing him the money. 'One two hour ticket, please.'

He sighed, gave her the ticket and waited til she was seated before swinging the bus around. Carmelita enjoyed the bus ride back to her apartment, getting off a block from the building complex. She walked quickly, memorising where the stop was, and soon she got to her apartment. Scaling the three flights of stairs like nothing, she came to her apartment door, pulling her spare key from behind a pot plant, she unlocked the standard flat door lock, and opened the door to her home.

She took a deep breath as she entered, closing the door behind her. For the first time in more hours than she could count, she was in the privacy of her own home. The first step she took was towards the bathroom.

Stepping inside, she firmly locked the door, and removed everything she was wearing, feeling the cool air on her chest, hips, hair, eyes and legs, for she had not undressed the smallest bit since putting the disguise on. She ran the water in the shower, and as the hot water flowed in, she scrubbed every part of her body, washing her hair and soaping up so much she was sure her fur would dry out.

After a good hour, she closed the taps, and grabbed a towel from the rack beside the shower. She dried herself thoroughly, then reluctantly proceeded to reapply the costume. The last thing she put on were her contacts, and she looked into the mirror, a cleaner Carmen Socks staring back at her. She walked back out into the hallway, and walked to the living room to check the time.

It was only 2:00pm. Carmelita decided she'd lay down, just to rest her eyes. She slid down on the couch, and lay her hands on her stomach, looking up at the ceiling. She decided she had to get a few things clear.

Firstly, which was more important to her, her job or Sly? A week ago, she would have said her job, hands down. But after pretending to be someone else for a while, and having Sly, and his gang, accept her and even become friends, she wasn't sure. Well, she knew what her heart told her, it just wouldn't stop telling her, but what could she do in reality? She did need her job, but she really did like Sly. A lot. Which one could she choose.

Carmelita thought about both sides, frowning at the ceiling. If she chose to go with Sly, she wouldn't have to tell Interpol about them. But if she picked Sly, there was no going back, and she'd be a criminal no matter what. She'd never be an ordinary citizen again.

But if she chose her job, she'd have a choice of staying with her job, and continually chasing Sly (which, she privately admitted, was quite fun) and always being able to go with him later. But that meant she'd have to do her job, and tell Interpol about Sly and his gang. And she couldn't bear lying to him anymore.

Hmm, she thought, as a half thought out idea surfaced in her mind, I never said I'd _truthfully_ tell the Chief about Cooper, and I haven't lied to him half as much as I have to Sly…perhaps I could even the odds…

Satisfied with her half thought plan, Carmelita drowsily skipped to the next problem. Her feelings for Sly Cooper. She knew she felt something for the charming raccoon. She got shivers when he touched her, and when he smiled at her, she felt warm inside. So did she love him?

Turning on her side, Carmelita thought hard. I think I do, she decided. I think  
I love Sly Cooper. She smiled an unhidden smile of happiness. He was so nice, so handsome, so caring, so…perfect. She snuggled in the comforting feel of the couch. She decided that she was definitely in love with him, and she felt warm just thinking about him.

She sleepily turned to the next problem.

Her disguise.

How much longer could she hide who she was? She'd almost given away who she was a couple of times, and surely her feelings for Sly would hint that _something_ was odd. What would they do to her when they found out. Sly had already told her that Bentley considered her, no, he considered _Carmen_, as a brother. He still saw her a just a threat to his heists. She felt sad that she was the cause of so much stress.

Her eyelids drooped, and she relaxed into the couch. She lifted a lid to check the time.

2:20pm. She had plenty of (yawn!) time, and she was just going to rest her eyes, just for a moment…

Carmelita slept for 2 and ½ hours.

She woke up and stretched on the couch, feeling like she had been dreaming a very odd dream. She looked over casually at the clock.

4:50pm.

'Madre de Dios!' she yelled, sitting bolt upright. Looking outside, she saw the sun sitting just above the Paris houses, casting long shadows over the city. She scrambled up from the couch and quickly patted down her rumpled clothes.  
she quickly ducked in the bathroom in case she'd forgotten anything.

But she was safe, and she bolted for the door, quickly shutting and locking it, throwing the spare key in its hiding place before racing to the staircase. She spied the banister on the staircase, grinned, and slid down to the bottom floor.

She burst out the doors of the apartment building and sprinted down to the bus shelter. Not one second later, the same beat up bus turned the corner and spluttered to a stop before Carmelita. She hopped on, and realising that her ticket would be out of date, just paid for a short trip fare. The bus driver nodded, accepted her money and took off before she could steady herself. Which resulted in the young fox being thrown into another passenger.

She apologised profusely to the young retriever, who just smiled at her apologies. 'Don't worry, buddy,' he said. 'All is forgiven.' Before he put his headphones back in. Carmelita was slightly confused when he called her buddy, but after a second remembered she was Carmen, and thanked the now tone deaf dog again.

At 5:10pm she arrived at her stop, thanked the driver and jumped off the bus. There was a group of hooligans drinking by the bus stop. She tried to walk around them, but one stopped her, saying in an intoxicated voice. ' Hey, kid, what are you doing out so late?'

Carmelita ignored him, trying again to avoid him, but he didn't know when to stop. 'C'mon, that's not nice, ignoring people. Say, can you buy us some drinks?'   
Carmelita dodged to one side and began running off her anger by speeding back to the hideout. Stupid teenagers, she thought angrily, drunk before it was even 6:00pm.

Speaking of the time, the sun had just begun to set over the Paris rooftops. She rounded a corner, running down the street like a kid late for curfew. She spied the hideout, and a figure standing on the roof. But as she caught sight of it, the figure dropped down to the ground and stuck their head in the front door. Out of breath, she flew past the front gate and ran right for the front door. Sly turned from talking to Bentley inside to catch the speeding fox before she crashed into something.

'Carmen,' he said happily as he released his grip from her shoulders. 'We were just talking about you.' He saw the worried look on her face and decided not to play around this time. 'You made it back in time, don't worry.' he assured her.

Carmelita gave a sigh of relief. She was getting worried there. Sly walked inside, and Carmelita followed him down the corridor, to the first living room, where her mattress lay to one side, and the Cooper gang were playing a board game. Monopoly, in fact.

'You can't play with a character because we started four hours ago, but you can be the bank, if you like.' Sly offered, sitting back down at the coffee table. Carmelita sat at one corner of the table, and Murray passed her the tray full of money.

'We were wondering when you'd get back.' Bentley said, not making eye contact with her. Carmelita felt there was more to this than Bentley would have liked to admit, and had something to do with what Sly said last night. She smiled at him.

'Thanks, Bentley.' she said kindly

He smiled gratefully at her. 'No worries, pal.'

'Let's get on with the game!' Murray said. 'I'm almost winning!'

The others laughed, and began their game again. It lasted long into the night, and they decided to pack it away at 11:00pm. Everyone except Carmelita was yawning (she'd had a nap earlier) and soon they had all gone to bed.

Carmelita sat on her mattress, not very tired after today. But she did run a block and a half home, and her body clock was telling her to sleep now, so eventually, Carmelita lay down on the bare mattress, finding a comfortable spot before managing to doze off.

Just before she drifted into sleep, she felt something warm wrap around her. She looked up sleepily to see a ringed tail disappearing behind a closing door, the light coming from the room ceasing after a moment. She snuggled into the blanket, breathing deeply as she smelt Cooper's interesting aroma on the blanket. Slowly, and dreaming of a certain raccoon, she drifted into dreams.

A/N: Hmm, a bit of a strange ending, eh? Oh well. So, Carmelita finally knows she loves Sly, but what will Sly do, especially if he doesn't know she is herself. Oh, and 'Madre de Dios' is, in a word for word translation, 'Mother of God'. I just had to throw it in! Until the next update!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Hello again! Next update! I don't know how long this will be, so we might be near the middle of the story, or this might be the last chapter, but I hope not! Anyway, I do not own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray, or Ms Puffin, who is in the Sly 2 comic. Anyway, the story…

Carmelita opened her eyes to the early morning on a bare mattress with a blanket draped loosely around her. She was confused for a moment, but then remembered that she wasn't sleeping on the couch anymore. She regretted it as she smelt breakfast in the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, and she brushed her short hair out of her eyes, got up and made the walk down the corridor to the other rooms, where breakfast was being served.

'And I thought I'd gotten up early today!' she joked as she entered the room. The Cooper gang looked over to her, and greeted her kindly.

'Morning Carmen!' Murray said cheerfully, handing her a plate. 'Help yourself to breakfast, 'The Murray' has made rice with chicken. Totally healthier than the pizza Sly was going to order.' He said, looking over at Sly and trying to look scolding, before breaking out into laughter at the look on Carmelita's face.

She had stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose at the thought of having something fattening like pizza as the first meal of the day. Murray had seen her pull this face, which was why he was laughing now. Sly and Bentley saw it too, and grinned. Sly attempted to look hurt by it.

'Don't you like my suggestion, Carmen?' he said in a high voice, supposed to sound upset, while Bentley scoffed. Carmelita grinned at him, then shook her head fiercely.

'I'd much rather have Murray's arroz con pollo than fattening pizza!' she stated firmly. Sly just grinned.

'And you said what?' he asked, hiding a curious tone from her. Carmelita blinked.

'Oh,' she said when she realised it. 'I just said what Murray had cooked. Rice with chicken. Arroz con pollo.' She said simply, shrugging. Sly nodded.

'And where'd you learn Spanish so fluently?' he asked, scooping up some rice with his fork and looking at her intently. Carmelita looked down at her breakfast.

'I was b- uh, was working in Spain, not long ago. I guess I picked up a lot there.' She said modestly, before eating a mouthful of rice. Sly swallowed and persisted asking questions as everyone ate their delicious breakfast.

'Working? Your foster parents let you travel to a different country to work? What did you do?' Sly asked, clearly surprised. Carmelita tried to look non-complacent as she answered his unexpected questions as best she could.

'Oh, they don't really care where I go, as long as they don't get a visit from the cops, and I pay for whatever I buy.' she said, trying to look hardened to all of this. 'I was working as a… uh, as a…' she paused, trying to think of something that would pay fair, but still have her in contact with lots of people.

'A waiter.' she finally said hurriedly. Bentley stared at her, one eyebrow raised. She instantly went on the defensive, yelling. 'What? I can be a waiter, you know!'

Once again, Sly had to calm the young fox down before things got ugly. 'Alright Carmen, no one thinks you can't be,' he said slowly, patting her gently on the shoulder. 'Bentley means no harm.'

Carmelita stopped instantly, realising she'd taken it too far again. 'Sorry Bentley,' she apologised, one hand rubbing the back of her neck like she'd seen Sly do once when he was nervous. 'I seem to keep doing that.' she said, grinning nervously.

Bentley accepted her apology straight away. 'Ah, forget it, I kinda did doubt you for a bit. I mean, going into a country where you can't speak the language, only to wait on people. You gotta admit it sounds odd.'

Carmelita smiled, raising her hands to the sky. 'Haven't I already warned you about that?' she joked. Bentley chuckled, nodding. Sly smiled, glad that his friends got along so well. Murray, who had finished his breakfast long ago, piped up now.

'Hey Bentley,' he almost whined, but not annoyingly. 'What are we doing today?'

Bentley cleared his throat. 'Well actually, there's a greengrocer close by whose prices are so high it's criminal.' He said, smirking at his play on words. Sly, used to these messages, winked at his small green friend.

'Well,' he replied. 'We should relieve this crook from some of his stock, since we're running low on our own.'

Carmelita had finally cut through all of this descriptive talk. 'You're going to rob a greengrocer's?' she said, shocked. 'But, apart from food, why!'

Bentley spoke up, it being his idea and all. 'You don't know this greengrocer's, Carmen,' he reasoned. 'They charge the poor folk around here $20 for a head of lettuce! And he's making a fortune in profit because the people around here can't afford the travel to inner Paris, or other towns around Paris. It's only fair that we take some cash from his substantial profit.'

Bentley finished, pushing his glasses up his nose. Carmelita scowled slightly. 'Maybe their prices are high because they keep losing all their stock to people like you!' she grumbled, her anger flaring up for a moment. Sly raised an eyebrow.

''People like you'?' he queried, repeating her words back to her. Carmelita grimaced inwardly. That was _not _a good choice of words. She tried to play off the meanness of their plan.

'Yeah,' she defended herself. 'you guys are so mean to the poor guy, stealing his stuff because he put his prices up. What if he gives his profits to charity?'

'He doesn't.' Sly said flatly. Before Carmelita could respond, Sly continued. 'Bentley was curious when we arrived here as to where he spent his money if he charged so much, and with a little digging, we found he keeps it to himself. It's not as bad as some people we've had to deal with in the past, but it's still greedy and dishonourable, taking money from people who can't afford it, so we decide not to 'contribute' to his pay check.'

Carmelita paused, thinking, and then nodded, despite herself. 'Okay, I get you. I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion.' She admitted, but she was too proud to apologise again.

But the gang didn't mind. Murray and Bentley were over it already. 'Don't worry about it.' they told her. Sly looked at her a moment longer, an odd glint in his eyes. But before Carmelita could truly turn this over in her mind, Sly smiled at her and turned to Bentley.

'The same usual plan then?' he asked. Bentley nodded.

'No need to fix what works already.' he said wisely. Sly went to grab his cane, and Murray left to warm up the van. Bentley turned to Carmelita, asking. 'You want to come as well, Carmen?'

Carmelita shrugged. 'Sure, why not?' and followed Bentley to the van, where Murray and Sly were already inside waiting. Soon they were all in and heading to the other side of the small neighbourhood, a place Carmelita had never been to before.

Sly gave her a brief idea of what they'd be doing. 'Okay Carmen, it's pretty much just in and out, not enough to call it a heist, really. We park the van outside the back where their loading dock is, Bentley hooks up to the security systems (almost laughable, it's only three cameras) and takes 'em down, then I (and you too, if you want to) will grab some uniform overalls, go in, fill a trolley full of stuff, and come out the way we came. We put everything back the way we found it, and drive off. Sound good?' he asked, grinning at her look of confusion as she slowly absorbed what he said. After a second, her expression hardened, and she nodded.

'Got it.' she said sharply.

'Hey, and one other thing,' Sly added, waiting for Carmelita to look at him. 'It's just a greengrocer's, so if you screw up, it doesn't matter. The trick is to play it cool.' He said, deepening his voice at the end. Carmelita stifled a laugh.

'I think he's ready, fellas,' Sly called to his best buddies. Murray stopped the van outside the loading dock, and Bentley began hacking the well known codes for the high priced grocery store. After only a minute or two, he stopped, a triumphant look on his face.

'Best time yet!' he beamed, puffing out his chest. Sly smiled.

'Well done pal!' he said, clapping him on the shoulder. 'Great work! Be back soon!' and he, and Carmelita, jumped out of the van while Murray congratulated his small green friend with a crushing, enthusiastic handshake.

Sly and Carmelita had already made it to the back of the store, and were now donning overalls with the groceries logo printed on it. Casually, the pair walked through the back to the shops front, where Carmelita grabbed a trolley, and Sly began loading it with all the fruits and vegetables they needed. Nobody gave them a second glance, except one elderly bird, who walked up to Carmelita and tapped her on the shoulder.

'Excuse me, young man,' she said, with her beak in the air. 'What are you doing with all those vegetables?'

'Special deliv'ry,' Carmelita said gruffly, trying to deepen her voice. 'Bringin' 'em to a sick customer.' The bird huffed, obviously not pleased with the answer she'd gotten. But Carmelita kept going, and the bird stuck her nose up further and walked off. Carmelita shrugged and turned to Sly, who was trying extremely hard not to laugh out loud. His shoulders shook silently, and Carmelita gave him a shove, trying to knock some sense into him.

'C'mon, get back down to earth, man!' she said, gruffly repeating a saying definitely not her own. Sly finally got the message, and regained his composure.

In no time, they had loaded the trolley, and wheeled it out to the loading dock. Murray came out from the driver's seat and lifted the whole trolley into the back. Carmelita was surprised at his strength, but Sly quickly changed out of his disguise and whispered for Carmelita to do the same, which she quickly complied to. In a moment, Murray had returned to the driver's seat, and Sly and Carmelita had slipped into the back of the van. They were gone in a flash.

The gang got back to the hideout just in time for brunch. Murray grabbed the trolley out of the back after Sly and Carmelita got out, and Bentley unlocked the security and let them into the hideout. Everyone made their way to the kitchen, where they had a quick snack of sandwiches (which they ate inside this time).

'What was so funny in the greengrocer's, Sly?' Carmelita asked, her mouth half full of food. Sly changed instantly. He began laughing again, and Bentley and Murray looked over at him, confused. Carmelita couldn't help the grin that came to her face, Sly's mirth had spread to her, but she asked again. 'What? What's so funny?'

He was red in the face from laughter, but he managed to grab a few gasps of air, which helped him calm down. His eyes were watering as he managed to get out. 'Ms. Puffin!'

'What about her?' Bentley asked, still confused. Murray was the same, scratching his head. Sly had calmed down enough to breath properly. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and he smiled a huge smile at his life-long friends.

'She was at the greengrocer's, telling off Carmen for taking the vegetables she wanted!' Sly told them, fighting hard to stop himself from bursting with laughter. The others were shocked.

'But our orphanage is on the other side of town!' Bentley said. 'I made sure of it!'

'Guess she moved.' Sly said, grinning. 'But oh man, you should have been there! She came up to Carmen and was like 'exCUSe ME, young man, WHAT are YOU doing with aLL THOse VEGEtables?'' he said, imitating his old orphanage headmistress with a hand regally on his chest, and Murray and Bentley cracked up. Carmelita smiled at his antics. He continued.

'And then,' he said breathlessly. 'after Carmen gave her some story about a sick customer, she stuck her beak in the air and waltzed off, and she was glaring at Carmen for the rest of the time!' he finished, and they all burst into laughter. Eventually they calmed down. Murray was the first to break the contented silence.

'Hey, we still haven't seen that movie we worked for the other day!' he exclaimed loudly, slapping his palms on the dining table in surprise. The table buckled slightly. Sly smiled, looking over at Carmelita briefly.

'Yeah, we should do something as a gang!' he said cheerfully, now turning to Bentley. He decided these things, and planned them, after all. Murray looked at him too, and Carmelita turned to look questioningly at the turtle. Bentley grimaced, thinking of all the work they would have to go through to disguise the group at such short notice, and with no materials. He spoke slowly, trying to break it gently to the eager group looking at him.

'Well,' he began. 'the thing with going to see a movie is the work we have to put into it. Disguises for everyone, you too Carmen, quick cash, making sure it's inconspicuous, no leaks to the police, no witnesses, no record of us going. There's a lot to do in such short notice.' He justified. Sly stopped grinning, but he nodded, understanding. Even Murray understood, after all, it was an all too familiar situation for the trio. Carmelita was shocked. They certainly were careful, she thought. No wonder Interpol gets no word of them until their heists begin! It's a shame though, she thought, they can't even to the cinemas without hours of work and preparation…

She had frozen temporarily, deep in thought, and Sly waved a hand in front of her face jokingly. 'Carmen…?' he said slowly, dragging out her false name. She snapped out of it and spun quickly towards him.

'What? What is it?' she said, panicking briefly. They all grinned at her reaction.

'Gee, someone had their head in the clouds.' Sly smiled. 'What was so captivating, then?'

'Oh, nothing much,' she said, dismissing her thoughts with a wave of her hand. 'Just thinking.'

Sly put an arm around her shoulders, pretending to whisper in her ear. 'Don't worry buddy, you can tell me. What was it you were thinking about? A girl?' he winked at her. 'A boy?' he raised his eyebrow quizzically.

'NO!' she said indignantly (or so she hoped), pushing off his warm arm from around her and stepping back so she could see him clearly. 'I was thinking about the work you have to go through to go out, if you must know.' She admitted.

'Well that's a relief.' Sly joked. Carmelita grinned and gave him a hard shove towards the couch. She laughed as his arms flailed comically, trying not to fall over onto the couch, which he did. Carmelita laughed even harder, and even Bentley and Murray joined in. Sly looked almost embarrassed as he got up, but he grinned it away.

'Gee, thanks for defending me, guys,' he mock-accused Bentley and Murray. They just laughed. Sly turned to Carmelita. 'And you!' he said, a frown on his face and a smile in his eyes. Carmelita stopped laughing out loud, and settled for smiling. Sly walked over purposely, placing an outstretched finger square on her chest. Carmelita looked down, making sure he didn't do anything dodgy.

Before she realised she had fallen for a trick, Sly quickly lifted up his finger and flicked her nose. Bentley and Murray laughed again as Carmelita blinked and scrunched her nose, rubbing it with her hand, and Sly gave her a mischievous grin.

'Gotcha.' he whispered below the laughter, his chocolate eyes glimmering with that odd look again. But Carmelita didn't panic like she might have a few days ago. She remained calm, almost captivated, and then gave him a scowl, but there was no heart in it.

After a while, the laughter died down, and there was a pleasant silence. Sly sighed, and clapped his hands in a businesslike way. 'Okay,' he said sharply, smiling as everyone jumped, just a little. 'It's not even lunchtime yet, and we've only done one interesting thing today. And a lot of laughing.' He grinned. 'So Bentley, am I safe to assume that there's nothing to do today?' he said, looking at Bentley.

Bentley smiled. 'Yep, that's right Sly. But tomorrow we'll get back into it, alright?'

Sly nodded. 'Sure. But Bentley, if you've got any spare time on your Internet surfing, could you check Carmelita's Interpol file?'

Murray had walked off to his room to listen to his stereo. Carmelita stiffened, but tried to hide it, busying herself by sitting down on the couch and turning the television on. However, she didn't notice what was playing. Her ears had perked and swivelled as she listened to Sly and Bentley's conversation.

'What am I searching for this time?' Bentley asked. He seemed to be used to these requests.

'Just when she'll be back.' Sly said casually. Bentley paused, and Carmelita guessed he was pulling a face at Sly.

'Sly,' he said, as though he was speaking to a five year old. 'You already know the file said she would be gone indefinitely. Why do you want me to check again?

'I… I miss her.' he said softly. 'And-'

But something stopped him suddenly. The pause lengthened, and Carmelita almost turned around to see what happened. She was debating whether to or not, when Sly called out, almost giving her heart failure.

'LOOK AT THAT NEWS REPORT!' he yelled. Carmelita jumped and snapped her head up and focused her eyes on the television in front of her. It was a cartoon of a yellow sponge talking to a purple starfish with board shorts on. Carmelita frowned.

'So, eavesdropping were we Carmen?' a silken voice asked softly in her ear. Carmelita shivered inwardly at Sly's smooth voice, and the warmth of his breath against such sensitive fur. But she froze at being caught, and tried not to seem guilty (much).

'Me?' she asked innocently, turning to look at Sly and Bentley. Bentley looked at her disapprovingly, but with a touch of humour in his eyes. Sly grinned at her, but he had a look in his eyes that Carmelita couldn't place.

'Yes you!' Bentley said. 'Look, busybody, I have a job for you out the back.'

That caught her attention. Her ears perked up and she asked cheerfully. 'What do you want me to do?'

Bentley pointed outside, saying. 'There is a metal spade leaning against the fence outside. I would appreciate your assistance in excavating a square metre of earth in the far corner of the lawn out yonder.'

Carmelita's ears drooped. 'You want me to dig a hole in the backyard?' she said bluntly, giving him a look. Bentley gave a nervous chuckle.

'Hehe, well, yes.' He said, and then composed himself, standing straighter. 'Go on, go!' he said, shooing her outside. She was about to laugh, but Bentley looked serious, and whatever it was meant she had to leave the room, so she grumbled and went outside.

Carmelita picked up the shovel and walked over to the far corner of the garden. She looked at the soil, and slammed the shovel into it with one hand. Then she just looked at it. Carmelita hated doing something pointless for no reason. She stared angrily at the ground, as if it was all its fault. Her hand still rested on the shovel, and she whacked the handle half-heartedly with it.

She wondered, well, almost began panicking, if Sly and Bentley had discovered who she was, on that high-speed computer in the corner of the room. She almost looked around in fear waiting to see if they would march outside and demand her to tell them who she really was. She imagined Sly never talking to her again, not even flirting with her during a heist, and an acid fear burned in her gut.

'The dirt getting on your nerves, Carmen?' A familiar voice asked from behind her shoulder. Carmelita's heart stopped for a moment, but she didn't jump, getting used to Sly sneaking up on her randomly. She didn't turn around, but pointed with her hand to the soil beneath her.

'I hate doing pointless stuff!' she stated angrily, taking her pointing hand and slamming it on the spade handle. She heard Sly chuckle behind her, and step to stand beside her, looking down at the soil. Carmelita glanced at him and saw he was smiling. Her heart beat a little faster as she felt his closeness.

'Carmelita is exactly the same.' He said fondly, his eyes glazing over as he smiled at whatever he was reliving in his mind. 'I think that's why she hates chasing me.' He turned to her and saw her looking his way. He caught her gaze and kept it, a serious expression on his face. But he was silent. Carmelita felt her mouth go dry, and she swallowed. Sly misread this nervousness and laughed.

'I'm not going to tell you off for eavesdropping, Carmen!' he laughed, patting her shoulder and resting his hand there. A tingle spread from Carmelita's shoulder to her heart, and Sly kept speaking, becoming serious once more. 'Can I talk to you about something?'

Carmelita shrugged, trying to hide her immense worry from the mysterious thief so close to her. Sly walked to the fence, his hand slipping off her shoulder, and he turned, motioning for her to follow him. Sly sat down with his back resting on the fence, and Carmelita sat beside him. But not too close. They paused. It lengthened. Finally Carmelita's patience gave in.

'Are you going to tell me what you wanted to talk about, you're making me nervous!' she exclaimed, but couldn't help smiling at him. He grinned at her.

'Okay, keep your pants on, Carmen.' he joked, and Carmelita flushed briefly, once again grateful that he couldn't see it behind her dyed fur. 'I want to talk to you about love.'

Carmelita stiffened.

Sly looked up to the sky. 'I think I love Carmelita.' He confessed. 'I think about her all the time, and I can't find anything bad about her. She's just so…perfect.'

Carmelita recognised her thoughts about Sly being twisted against her (or about her), and she looked at the crafty raccoon once again to try and she what he knew. But it was hidden behind that chocolate cover, and after a moment she looked back down at the clumps of grass. She had a bout of self-doubt, and said. 'But she's a cop. She's out to catch you, as a thief.'

'It doesn't matter,' Sly reasoned. 'As long as the gang's safe, and she knows how I feel, I don't care if she catches me.'

A part of Carmelita, most likely her cop side, noted that this might be why he was so reckless, and also how he might get in half the trouble he does. If he was working for the wrong people, he might even be dangerous. She calmed herself down, reminding herself that he worked against the world's worst. Just like her, her heart added, but she shushed it, continued with her self-analysis. 'Carmelita seems to have an awful temper.' She said cautiously.

'But she's so cute when she's angry.' he said, grinning. 'And most of it's because of me, or my 'profession'. If we were together…' he faded off, smiling at the thought. Carmelita tried to suppress her delight.

'She's very stubborn.' Carmelita warned bluntly. Sly was too absorbed in his imagination to notice the frankness in her voice.

'It's more like dogged determination.' he defended. 'Always good in a partner. Or wife.' Carmelita's spine tingled with Sly's suggestion. She persisted.

'She can be very emotional.' she said, confessing some of her worse points to him. But Sly just shrugged.

'Aren't all women like that?'

'She's not the easiest person to get along with.'

'Not everyone is. It's part of who she is.'

'Her family won't like it.'

'I'll convince them. I'll find a way.'

Sly suddenly turned to her, fixing her with a mischievous, but curious look. 'How do you know so much about this, Carmen? Have you ever loved someone?

And now it was Carmelita's turn to look away, thinking carefully about her answers. 'I have, yes.' She said quietly.

'And did she return your affection?' he asked.

'I- I wasn't sure.' she said, slightly stretching the truth. She knew Sly really liked _Carmelita_, but she was speaking as Carmen, so that was a no. Sly continued.

'What was she like?' he asked.

'Uh, well, she was a bit like you, actually.' Carmelita said, and Sly raised an eyebrow. Carmelita fidgeted, shifting around on the ground.

'Well, she was about your age.' she explained. Sly had turned to face her, and nodded for her to continue, grinning slightly. Carmelita did.

'And, well, I suppose she was about your height.' she said, vaguely waving a hand around Sly's head. He smiled, an odd glint in his eyes, and Carmelita looked away again.

'Did you tell her?'

'No.'

'Will you?'

'I- I-uh…'

Sly had an odd look in his eyes, and was it her imagination, or was he leaning slightly towards her…

'SLY!' Bentley yelled from the house. They both sprang to their feet, turning towards the house. Shadows were moving inside. They ran inside, not thinking, just making sure they'd get there in time…

A/N: Aah, sorry it took so long to update, I'll try to be quicker next time! It's just that I've started school again, after a two week break, and that's thrown me right off. But anyway, hope you like it!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Ah! So sorry it took this long to update, but you wouldn't believe school lately. Anyway, I left you on a cliff hanger, didn't I? Oops, I am so dead. Okay, just read, and don't hate me, I'll write faster, honest! No, I don't own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray or green spaghetti. Now, story time!

Carmelita and Sly burst through the back door. Murray had raced into the room at Bentley's yell, and stood, fists raised, glaring at the intruder. Bentley was frozen to his chair behind the computer, a gun aimed at his head. Holding the handle of the weapon stood a young, tall wolf.

'Bentley, you alright?' Sly asked in a steady tone. However, his voice was tense at the trouble his friend was in. Carmelita glanced briefly at the raccoon beside her. Her heart raced, but this time it was sending adrenaline to her body, and she was sure Sly would have been the same. But even under this tension, his first thoughts were for his friends. Quietly, Carmelita respected this, but the wolf scoffed.

'He won't be if you don't do what I say.' A high voice demanded. Carmelita looked curiously at the black-clad wolf. Then the gun.

Wait a minute…

'My gun!' Carmelita exclaimed, shocked. That was _her_ Shock Pistol! She didn't notice Sly's odd look directed at her, instead focusing intently on the criminal in front of her. Even with a black balaclava, black pants and black polo shirt (all of which Carmelita noticed were a tight fit, especially the top), Carmelita had a strong feeling that she knew who this culprit was. Anyway, the tight top showed she was female, and even though only her eyes showed from behind the balaclava, Carmelita had only ever met one wolf who wore _that_ much mascara and eyeliner. She gave the wolf a knowing, mischievous grin.

'Officer Lax.' she stated triumphantly. Sly blinked, looking at Bentley's captor. Bentley didn't move. Murray was shocked, to say the least.

'An Interpol officer?' he asked, his eyes wide in surprise. 'But, what…she's going to arrest us!' he gasped, panicking.

'No she's not.' Carmelita said firmly, looking the officer in the eye. 'She has no 'cuffs, no badge, and no support.' she pointed out. She paused, thinking. 'Actually, this looks more like a robbery.'

The wolf smiled. 'Clever boy, as well as cute.' she said smugly. Carmelita frowned. 'Yes, this is a robbery, and if you don't hand over all your valuables, the turtle's brains will be nothing but electrified goo.'

She cocked the gun.

Carmelita began to sweat, but she didn't show it. Sly stood stiffly beside her, the cogs and gears in his mind whirring at top speed. Bentley had suppressed a squeal as the gun clicked, and Murray bared his teeth. Carmelita looked around the room. If only they had time to think up something…perhaps she could buy them some time…

'Why are you robbing us?' she asked innocently, trying to act like the confused 16 year old she was supposed to be. 'Aren't you a cop?'

'Of course I'm a cop!' the wolf stated, almost proudly. Well, at least she's proud of it, Carmelita thought. Officer Lax put her unused hand to her hip. 'But the pay is awful, so I decided to get a pay rise from those who have tonnes to spare.' she said in a manner of fact tone.

Carmelita had an idea, and she slowly shuffled sideways. She kept talking.

'But you're an officer of the law, doesn't that mean you shouldn't break the law?' she continued, trying to keep the would-be robber thinking as she inched sideways. By the time Officer Lax had come up with an answer, Carmelita was standing in front of Sly, blocking him from her view. The officer was speaking, but Carmelita was only half listening as she waited for Sly to catch on to her idea.

'Well, technically I should…' the corrupt officer said slowly, as if choosing her words carefully so as no to incriminate herself.

Carmelita heard mumbling behind her.

'…but I need the money for this pair of shoes I really want…'

She felt a whisper of air against her neck, as though something had passed her. She had a feeling Sly knew what he was doing.

'…and they're only on sale this weekend, so I just HAD to rob you for more money.' Officer Lax concluded, as if it was obvious.

Carmelita nodded, but before she could say anything, the ditzy officer looked around the room. She had caught on to what was happening. A little.

'Hey, where'd Cooper go?' the officer asked. Her hands had fallen to her sides, and she scratched her head comically with her free hand. Bentley and Murray had also looked around the room, confused. Carmelita looked behind her, and saw nothing. She smiled.

A scream caught Murray and Carmelita's attention, and they whirled back to Bentley's captor (Carmelita noticed Bentley had clamped his hands over his ears at the woman's scream). The Shock Pistol was floating just out of her reach, and pointed at her. Bentley noticed a split second later, and scrambled out of his chair to the side of the room. The gun moved to levitate beside the scared officer's head.

'This is Casper the Ghost,' a voice wavered, attempting to intimidate the rattled woman. It worked.

'Wh-wh-what d-do you-u w-w-want?' Officer Lax stuttered, her hands held up defensively in front of her face. Carmelita looked to the others, wondering what their reaction was. She was surprised.

Bentley had hidden a snicker, and Murray was grinning. Confused, she turned back to the confrontation and listened carefully as the 'ghost' spoke again.

'I want you to leave this house now. And never return to these people again.' the voice (which Carmelita noticed sounded quite familiar) demanded, waving the gun around. The officer gulped, visibly paling. She raised her hands as if under arrest herself, and slowly walked down the corridor, and out the door. There was a pause, then Carmelita snatched the gun from the air (surprising the ghost) and rushed down the corridor, fiddling with the Shock Pistol as she moved. She found what she was looking for, a little pad with some numbers and a security lock on it. She smiled, locking the gun with her password. Opening the door, she saw the officer, still pale and with her hands in the air.

'Hey, Officer Lax!' she called out in her most boyish voice. The woman turned around. 'Don't worry about Casper, he's just messing with you. Here you go,' she said, tossing her the Shock Pistol. The surprised officer tried to catch it, but fumbled and it dropped to the ground. Carmelita winced. The officer picked it up, dusting it off. She looked up at Carmelita, a small smile on her face.

'Thanks sweetie.' she said, and Carmelita had to work hard not to pull a face. She raised a hand in farewell and walked inside. Closing the door, she saw the officer blow a kiss, and she shut the door and poked her tongue out.

'Eew,' she whispered childishly. She walked back to the lounge room, where she saw the Cooper gang beaming at her. There was silence for a moment, then Bentley spoke.

'Carmen, thank you so much!' he said grabbing her hand in a firm handshake and shaking vigorously. Carmelita's whole arm shook up and down at the force. Murray beamed at her.

'Wow, Carmen you were really clever. Awesome!' he said excitedly, grabbing her other hand and crushing her fingers in an enthusiastic handshake. Sly walked up to her, giving her one of his most charming grins.

'Great thinking Carmen, I'm proud of you boy.' he said proudly, ruffling her hair and clapping her on the back. Carmelita beamed back at all of them, almost crying in happiness. This was what real happiness was. Every time she thought she was happy, or proud, or glad because she had caught another criminal, she had thought that it was the best feeling. It was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. 

Carmelita's stomach rumbled, and Murray finally let go of her hand. 'Let's have dinner, I'm starving!'

The others nodded, and Carmelita's other hand was freed, and her hair was left alone. This is when she noticed the long lock of hair in front of her face. Oh no! She tried walking calmly out of the lounge towards the bathroom, calling out behind her, 'I'll be back in a minute!' then she power-walked into the small room.

Standing in front of the mirror, Carmelita looked in panic at her reflection. Did anyone notice it? Did Sly? A long lock of her real hair had escaped from under her wig, twirling down past her chin to stop at her stomach. She quickly took the wig off and tied her hair closely. A knock at the door startled the young fox, almost causing her to jump out of her fur.

'Carmen?' Sly asked.

Carmelita panicked. 'Yes?' she replied in a squeaky voice.

Sly paused, then asked. 'Are you alright? You sound kinda odd.'

'I've got something in my throat.' she said, coughing.

'Okay, well, Murray wants to know if you want spices in the spaghetti he's gonna cook.'

'Oh, yes please.' Carmelita answered, smiling. She was panicking for no reason, and now she was going to have spaghetti for dinner. She never had the time for decent meals usually, chasing Cooper had meant she worked from dawn to dusk. So she was grateful that she was having healthy food here. In fact, living here had meant she had a great diet.

'Alright, I'll go tell him.' Sly said, and Carmelita listened for the footsteps that accompanied his departure. Calming down, she put all her hair into place, _securely_ putting the wig back on, and walked back out into the kitchen. Dinner would be a while, Murray informed her, so she would have some spare time. She asked if she could help, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand, telling her he had it all under control.

She wandered over to Bentley, who had recovered from his bout with danger, and was back on the computer planning the next heist. Carmelita tried to ask him what it was, but he was so absorbed in his work he could hardly string together two words. Carmelita looked over at Sly, reading from his famous heirloom. She walked over to the table he was sitting at and pulled up a chair. She looked closely at the book. It was very tattered, and the pages were heavily dog-eared. The leather binding was worn and faded, but the script on the front stood out clearly.

'Thievius Raccoonus.' Carmelita read in a whisper. But it was enough to alert Sly that he had company, and he quickly shut the book and put it in his leg pouch. Carmelita quickly sat up. They sat like that for a moment, before Sly relaxed.

'You did well to think up that plan of yours before,' he said casually. Carmelita shrugged, but she couldn't stop the smile that came to her face.

'Well, I was lucky you knew what to do as well.' she said truthfully. Sly grinned. Carmelita couldn't quite make eye contact when he was looking at her like that (she got all flustered) so instead she turned to look out the window. Sly looked too.

Carmelita saw the guttering and remembered that night they had sat on the roof, talking. She realised she needed to learn how to jump properly in this costume without hurting herself. During the first and only real heist she'd been on, she had performed a jump she could do in her usual gear, but her disguise, the coset especially, cut into her side sharply, and she didn't want to do that again.

'Sly,' she asked slowly. He looked back at her, motioning for her to continue. She breathed deeply and said. 'Will you teach me how to do some moves from the Thievius Raccoonus?'

He looked at her seriously, and she almost withered under that intent gaze. But she stood her ground, looking him in the eye. He considered this a moment.

'I suppose,' he said slowly, looking out the window again. 'I could teach you _some_ things.' He looked back at her. 'What did you want to learn?'

Carmelita gave him one of her stunning smiles in gratitude. Then she compiled a short list of the basic things she'd need if they were taking her on another heist again. 'Well, jumping on or off high things,' she said first off. 'Uh, running quietly, or with a weapon. Even if it is pretend,' she said, smiling at her joke. Sly grinned at her, and her heart warmed. 'Um, swinging on things, and using the weapon for some basic stuff.' She was counting on her fingers, and she looked at her hand. 'That's all I can think of for now.'

Sly looked back out the window, contemplating her requests. She watched the small smile that crept on his face. Still holding her breath, she watched as Sly turned to face her once more

'Alright Carmen,' he said, his smile spreading across his face. 'I'll teach you a little bit.' He stood up, and she quickly followed suit as he walked outside to stand beside the familiar pillars that held up the roof over the veranda. Then he turned, and they stood face-to-face in the slowly dimming light.

'Well, you already know how to climb,' he joked, grinning at her. She grinned back (she always enjoyed it when he gave her that look!), and he continued. 'So perhaps we'll try landing properly. Okay, first thing you need to know are the three different ways you can stop yourself from hurting if you fall.'

He lead her out to where the grass was growing most (there were four clumps of grass there!) and explained them. 'First, which I think is a self-defence move, is to slap the ground if you fall. It'll absorb some of the pain when you land.'

He showed her some examples, and she tried it out. After a couple of tries, Sly moved on to the next one.

'Right, the next technique is if you're falling sideways or forwards, like if you were pushed to one side or in the back. Then you roll. That kind of spreads the shock out so you can almost 'roll it off'.' he said, grinning, at Carmelita, who was slightly dusty. They practiced that for a while, and when Carmelita seemed to get the knack of it, Sly moved on to the final falling skill.

'The last one, you'll be glad to know,' he said to the now much dustier Carmelita. 'Is very simple really, and it's more for small jumps, like of rooves.' he grinned. 'You pretty much just absorb the shock in your legs, bending them when you land so you don't jar anything.' And he showed her how to do these, practicing some more. By the end of these simple skill training exercises, Carmelita was breathing heavily. Sly noticed.

'What?' he exclaimed, smiling. 'You're not completely puffed out? Better move on to sneaking.' he joked.

By the time the sun had well and truly set, Sly had taught Carmelita how to land, sneak and block attacks with her wooden cane (they hadn't been able to practice swinging on anything for lack of things to swing on). Both were well and truly puffed, although they would have dug up something and kept practicing. But Murray had announced that if they didn't come in for dinner now, then he'd eat it all and they would have to go hungry. They decided to go inside.

After the Cooper gang plus Carmelita had finished their delicious meal of spaghetti with spice and bolognaise sauce (Murray had tampered with the noodles and made them green with food colouring) the group sat contently at the table, enjoying the warm meal in their bellies and the general comfort they were in.

After a while, Bentley interrupted their quiet with a reluctant cough. They all looked over at their small green friend as he straightened himself in his chair. 'Well guys,' he said in a business-like tone. 'We haven't pulled off a heist in a while, and I've found a pretty decent spot.'

Everyone's ears perked up, and Bentley continued. 'You know the petrol station by the side of the Baston Highway,' he said, looking as they all nodded their heads. 'It looks small and meek, doesn't it? Well, the real deal with that place, and its owner, Mia Felon, is a counterfeiting operation _right under the station_.'

As Bentley explained the details of the story and the plan, using his projector and a yellow marker, Carmelita became really keen on this heist. Not only were they bringing in a crook, which was always a great thing to do, but by the sounds of it, she'd have a big part in this heist. She wouldn't just be the decoy, she'd actually help the others out. Her cop side, who Carmelita had thought had disappeared when she admitted she loved Cooper, found its way to the front of her mind.

YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK INTO A BUILDING! it screamed at her. You do KNOW that's a class 3 crime, don't you!

Carmelita panicked. Would she be able to forgive herself if she played a truly active part in this type of break-in? Perhaps she should refuse to do it? But that would raise more suspicion, and not only that but Bentley, Murray and even Sly would feel she wasn't pulling her weight in the gang.

'What's wrong Carmen?' Sly asked, surprising Carmelita out of her internal argument. She looked away.

'It's a battle with m conscience is all.' she mumbled truthfully. She looked up and saw Sly thinking, then look at Bentley. The small turtle looked at the worry in Carmen's expression.

'Don't worry so much Carmen,' he assured her. 'You'll still only do the decoy bit for the most half, and a little recon work. Just taking pictures and running.'

Carmelita calmed down. That didn't sound so bad, did it? She wasn't breaking in, or hurting any innocent people. And she wasn't robbing anyone of anything either. Her conscience settled down, but her cop side wouldn't leave without a fight.

You're still assisting a criminal! it raged. How can you live with yourself? Don't you feel guilty, because you should!

But calmly, and truthfully, her heart replied, I live with myself perfectly fine, because these people do not steal from the needy, or pick on the weak. They do the right thing in their own way, and I want to help them.

You wa-, her cop side began angrily, but she focussed back on what Sly was asking Bentley, and ignored it.

'…be a quick heist right?' the Master thief asked. Bentley nodded in the affirmative, and Murray asked whether there'd be any fast food stands nearby. Bentley scolded him for that, and told him to pack some food from the hideout.

'No further questions?' asked Bentley, looking at all of them. Carmelita shook her head. Nope, she knew what she was doing. Sly asked when they'd be pulling off the heist, to which Bentley answered that it would be tomorrow night and if Sly was listening properly he would have known that already and have no need to ask such a pointless question. Carmelita stifled a giggle as Sly told their small friend that he already knew and just felt like rattling his shell a little. Bentley sighed, and left to do some last minute tweaking to his plan.

'Whose turn to do the dishes tonight?' Murray asked Sly. Sly turned to Carmelita.

'Carmen hasn't done them all week, having guest status and all,' he said, grinning mischievously. Carmelita sighed, walking over to the pile of dishes that wasn't really so big, but seemed to have grown when she realised she'd be cleaning them. The other two smiled and Murray put on a wrestling video, while sly went to his room to read.

Carmelita ran some water and scrubbed at the plates. She wasn't used to cleaning up after four people. It was almost like a family.

Family. Her own would be shocked that she was working with the thief she had spent so long trying to put behind bars. And she knew her father would be almost horrified if she told him she loved that scoundrel.

Carmelita smiled. It was so much easier to accept that she loved Sly now, she almost enjoyed saying it, just for the thrill of it. She wondered if he'd ever give up thieving, because she knew that as long as he followed his family's legacy, she could never be with him. Even if she wanted to.

She sighed. Why was her life never easy? Or straight-forward? It seemed like every time she thought she knew just what was happening or where she stood, things would spin and she was left searching for her footing again. That ten-second incident at the Krac Karov volcano was the perfect example. Blast that raccoon! She was so close to catching him, and he goes and pulls a stunt like that!

And began changing her black and white view of him and his gang, her heart mentioned. Carmelita shook he head, trying to get rid of the pesky thoughts clouding her mind. She focused back on the dishes and scrubbed earnestly at the dishes and cutlery, cleaning the rest of the dishes and cutlery.

She was just finishing up when she felt the back of her neck prickle slightly, and she knew someone was watching her. She looked up at the back wall, a reflection in the windows showing a sneaky raccoon leaning against the archway behind her, his arms crossed and some kind of look on his smug but handsome face.

'How long have you been there, Cooper?' she asked gruffly, trying to hide the embarrassment she felt, and grateful she hadn't started talking to herself like she usually did. Phew! Grinning, Sly pushed off the wall with his back, and walked over to stand, at conversation distance, next to the young vixen. She drained the water and grabbed a towel, drying her hands, still questioning him with her eyes.

Sly uncrossed his arms to raise his palms in innocence. 'No need to get icy,' he joked. 'Only long enough to see you start scratching at the dishes like they had bitten you.' Carmelita grinned, still slightly embarrassed. She put the towel back on the bench. She put her hands to her hips, but once again felt that odd texture underneath her jumper, and quickly moved them to put her hands in her pockets.

'Why were you there?' she asked. Sly shrugged.

'Just wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me tomorrow.' he said casually. Carmelita's ever-hopeful heart saw this as a date, but she shushed it before she started grinning like a madwomen. She took a breath to calm herself.

'Sure,' she said calmly. 'Where to?'

Sly seemed to shuffle a bit. Carmelita wondered what the sudden case of nerves was for. But then he said it. 'Carmelita's apartment.'

She was shocked. 'What? Why?' she asked in a high voice. After another breath, she asked steadily. 'I mean, why do you want to go somewhere you can't get into?'

He hadn't been there before, right?

Sly grinned sneakily at her again. 'I'm just going to do some housecleaning for her. Goodness knows she hasn't had time for that in ages.'

Carmelita blushed beneath her dyed fur at Sly's observation. True, she hadn't had time to clean up her apartment in a while, but she didn't realise it was _that_ noticeable.

'Still want to come?' he asked. Carmelita smiled at him, looking the raccoon in the eye.

'Sure.'

With that settled, the rest of the night passed quickly, and soon Carmelita was resting her head on her pillow on the bare mattress in the smaller lounge. She made a mental note to remember to get a sheet for it. And perhaps a doona (or bedspread), not that she wasn't grateful for the blanket Sly had given her. She just needed something warmer, she thought as she wrapped the material around her tightly. Maybe tomorrow I'll find one. Yes, I'll do it tomorrow…

And with that, Carmelita drifted off to sleep, waiting for tomorrow.

A/N: This might be a weird chapter, I got stuck halfway through. Anyway, I know you all have different ideas on what's happening, so I'm trying not to be too specific, because it could be ANY of them (dramatic music). Okay, I've wasted enough time, so please tell me what you think. Until the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: I am SO SORRY it's taken me this long to write this chapter! Really, really, really sorry! Times infinity! Sorry! Anyway, enough talking, on with the chapter before you all kill me. Or maybe you've all gone home… No, don't own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray or a bus. Story now

Carmelita became aware of someone shaking her shoulders and a soft voice coaxing her to wake up. She drowsily opened her eyes and saw blackness.

She panicked, sitting bolt upright. Still, all she saw was black. She dimly recognised Sly's voice as he whispered to her. 'Calm down, Carmen.'

She did. 'Sly? What…why are you…how come-'

Sly chuckled. 'I'll explain later,' he whispered. 'When we're on our way.'

'On our way?' she asked softly. 'Where?' Then she remembered. 'Now?'

Sly nodded (but she couldn't see it), so he confirmed it with a whispered 'Yes, now.' Then he took her hand and led her to the back door, finding a hidden keypad and typing something in it before opening the door and leading her outside.

As soon as Carmelita was outside, she could see again. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and the starlight, and she turned to see Sly closing the door behind them. He grinned at her as he started walking to the fence. 'Come on,' he said, waving her over. 'We've got to get moving before Bentley figures out where we are.'

'What?' Carmelita said, stunned. 'You mean Bentley doesn't know we're going to m- Carmelita's apartment?' she asked, trying to remember to choose her words carefully. 'Why are we going now?'

'Because otherwise someone will catch us there,' he explained, jumping onto the fence, a small cobbled lane on the other side, offering a hand to Carmelita, who ignored it, grinning as she scaled the fence excellently. He jumped down and walked out onto the street outside the hideout. Carmelita caught up and began walking down a familiar path leading to a deserted park.

Well, almost deserted.

'HeY, iz stUCK-up bOY!' a voice slurred, and a swaying figure approached Carmelita and Sly. Carmelita instantly recognised the drunken teen, and stood on her guard. Sly frowned as the boy approached. He stopped a little too close too Carmelita, his stinking aroma assaulting her senses.

'Hey boy,' he drawled, swaying and squinting at Carmelita in the dark. 'Youwere s'posed to get drinks forus. Why didn'tcha?' He moved to shove her, but Sly intercepted, his frown deepening.

'Excuse me,' he said politely, but with an icy tone in his voice. 'We have to be going. Come on, Carmen.' he said, pushing past the youth, who almost fell over from his tipsy state. They walked quickly past him, and he called out after them.

'FiNe! Nex' tIme, Inspecta!' he yelled.

'INSPECTOR?' Sly and Carmelita repeated, whirling around to look at the tipping teen. He grinned lopsidedly at the suddenly captivated pair.

'Yeah,' he said smugly. 'You look jus' like that loose bi-'

THUD! And the kid collapsed on the ground, passing out.

'Lucky,' Sly growled, his brow lowering in anger. 'Another word and I would have knocked him out myself.' Breathing deeply, Sly gave one last evil look towards the collapsed kid, and then turned towards the other side of the park at a jog. Carmelita jogged beside him, subtly checking her disguise for any flaws she may have missed. Sly looked up at the sky and frowned again.

'Great,' he mumbled. 'now we're late.' Carmelita looked at him.

'For what?' she asked. Sly motioned to the tattered bus shelter that Carmelita knew well. She grinned inwardly at this tiny little stop's importance for the last week or so. They jogged over, hiding behind the small greenery beside the shelter. No one else was there, so when the bus trundled past not a moment later, they had to sprint to catch hold of it. Once both had a hold of the worn out bus, they climbed up to its roof, holding on by the top of the front window.

'Not far,' Sly said as the bus took them through the sleeping town. Carmelita nodded. Then she looked at Sly.

'Do I really look like…Carmelita?' she asked cautiously. She knew this could cost her the disguise if Sly looked too hard and saw that she really _was_ Carmelita. She held her breath as he turned his head to look at her.

'Yeah, a little,' he said casually, turning back to the front of the bus. 'Now, when we get there, we're going to have to be really quick, otherwise someone might notice two strangers waltzing around in the lovely Inspector's apartment, and that's suspicious.'

She suppressed a giggle as she imagined her and Sly waltzing around in her kitchen, but Carmelita wasn't entirely comforted by his quick change of subject. He almost seemed to be avoiding the-

'Okay, jump off!' Sly commanded in a whisper, and rolled off the side of the bus. Carmelita panicked slightly, having just come back to reality from her musings, but quickly followed suit, landing five metres ahead of Sly, and doing a small, tight roll to wear of the impact. Jumping quickly to her feet, she looked around and saw Sly motioning for her to follow him. She caught up, and they walked the very short distance to Carmelita's apartment building. But instead of walking straight up to it like she had always done, Sly led her around the back of the building, up a drainpipe, and across a window ledge (Carmelita had to be very careful not to look down there) before another drainpipe lead them to the roof of the apartment building. Then Sly turned to her with a grin.

'Here's the fun part.' he said mischievously, walking over to what Carmelita thought was just a big metal box. He waved her over, and pried off the metal grating to reveal a huge air vent, big enough for both to crawl through.

Which Sly already knew. Carmelita looked at him and saw the obvious. He had known this all along. He had planned to come here for a while. He had been in her apartment before!

But before she could begin to yell at him, Sly turned and crawled through the gap. She watched as his ringed tail quickly disappeared into the darkness, frowning at the thought of entering an apartment illegally, even if it was her own. But a muffled call from inside the vent temporarily silenced her inner battle, and she crawled in after him.

'Sly!' she whispered angrily to his feet, as the pair crawled down the maze of metal. 'You knew where this was, didn't you? You've done this before!' she accused him. But all he did was shush her and kept leading her through the twists and turns until he stopped crawling and turned to the side.

'This one.' he said, prying off a much smaller grating, grinning at her and jumping down with barely a noise, bar the gentle thud of a weight on carpet. Carmelita readied herself and jumped from that awkward angle to land quietly on her own carpet. She had a sudden urge to sit down and just feel her floor beneath her, but Sly had already begun wandering, and she couldn't leave him in her apartment alone!

Sly moved quietly across to the front door of her apartment, and she could only just make out his figure beside her door. She listened carefully as he spoke to get her bearings.

'It seems Carmelita has some mail.' he said playfully, reaching down to pick up a white envelope from the floor. He paused. 'Hmm, I wonder who sends mail to a person on holidays? Especially Interpol.'

Carmelita's heart jumped a couple of beats. 'Interpol?' she squeaked. Sly nodded, ignoring her suddenly high-pitched tone.

'Yeah,' he mused, looking at the envelope. 'I.S.P. to be exact. Hmm, strange…' he murmured to himself, sliding it into his leg pouch.

Carmelita realised then that she was going to have to find a way to pickpocket Sly Cooper.

'C'mon Carmen!' Sly called, alerting her that he was moving around her apartment again. 'We're wasting precious daylight. Or lack thereof.' he joked, looking around the apartment. He poked his nose into a couple of rooms before he found her laundry.

'Ah ha!' he called, pulling out a duster and broom from a thin white cupboard. He looked amused as he pulled them out into the main room. Carmelita was instantly defensive of her belongings.

'What's so funny, Cooper?' she questioned suspiciously, eyes narrowing at his shadowy figure. Sly shrugged his shoulders, grinning.

'Nothing,' he said innocently, his eyes sparkling mischievously. 'Just figured that it's a little simple. You know, you'd think someone who earns a hundred grand a day could afford a vacuum cleaner or something.'

Carmelita's jaw dropped. 'What!' she said, shocked. 'For your information, I-' she paused, hands on hips, despite the funny feeling under her fingers. 'I- I know that she earns far less.'

Sly raised an eyebrow. 'Really?' he questioned sceptically, looking her in the eye. She looked back at him, raising her chin slightly.

'Yeah,' she said, crossing her arms, her tone defensive. But the corners of her mouth were tilting upwards into a very small smile. Sly looked carefully at her face. They stayed like that for a moment, before Sly smiled and turned away.

'Okay,' he said evenly. 'I believe you.'

For the second time in a minute, Carmelita was hit with the unexpected, and was speechless again. Did Sly Cooper just back down from an argument with her? Like, give in? What was he up to? Why did he do that?

Where is he going!

Carmelita started, noticing Sly's ringed tail disappearing around a corner, back towards her living room. She joined him shortly, not wanting him to escape her gaze. She had all these questions floating inside her head, but when she almost bumped into Sly, he just handed Carmelita her broom and suggested they'd better get to work.

Carmelita usually grumbled half-heartedly about cleaning, it was not one of her favourite things to do. Usually she used her work as an excuse to only tidy up every once in a while, and when her parents were coming over. But at four in the morning, hiding behind a disguise in her own apartment, helping the infamous Sly Cooper clean her living room, she settled for pulling faces at the broom and mop.

After an hour of brushing, dusting, sweeping and scrubbing, Sly decided that Carmelita's apartment was clean enough, and that the sun would rise soon, so they ought to head back. Carmelita was relieved to say the least. Although she did have to admit that her apartment did look much better than she'd seen it in a long while. While she packed the cleaning stuff away, Sly quickly checked over the whole house, making sure no trace was left of their presence.

Or not much of it. Carmelita watched carefully as he darted left, then right, then left again all around her apartment. She still didn't trust him entirely, and became suspicious when he stopped suddenly at her dining table, bent over and scribbling something.

'Hey!' she said loudly, stepping forward from her out-of-the-way spot by the cupboard. 'You can't graffiti on that table!' She reached out one hand and was about to sweep his arm from the table when he spun around, grinning.

'All done,' he said shortly. 'Let's go.'

Carmelita looked at him for a moment. Then at her table, expecting to find horrible scratch marks or big black texta scribble staining it. But there was something she hadn't seen all week.

A Cooper calling card.

She bent over to read the hasty pen message on it, but two arms she had forgotten about pulled her back. 'Come on, Carmen, let's move!' their owner urged, and Carmelita had to leave her curiosity unfulfilled, for now, as she turned and climbed back into the air vent, pulling the grating back with a strong piece of rope.

Which was already firmly attached to the grating, Carmelita noticed, smiling dryly. Ooh, that sneaky raccoon! she fumed quietly. He is _so_ going to get what's coming to him!

They emerged from the vent system at sunrise. Thin streams of gold were spread across the sky like streaks of paint someone had spilled, and Sly's face looked like he was the one who spilled them.

'Oh no!' he cursed quietly. 'We're late. Again!' He turned back to Carmelita, a serious look in his eyes. 'Alright Carmen, we are going to have to sprint off the edge of this rooftop, and then you'll have to grab on to me. Okay?'

Carmelita's shocked look said no (well actually it was more like, 'ARE YOU COMPLETELY CRAZY RINGTAIL!'), but Sly just nodded and turned towards the edge of the roof. She barely had time to gulp before he quickly counted. 'One. Two. Go!'

And Carmelita watched for a moment as Sly ran, full pelt, towards the edge. Then she felt something pull hard at her wrist, and the next thing she knew, she was running too! The cement rushed quickly, and the open sky loomed closer, then 'Jump!' and she latched on to Sly's waist as she rose briefly from the jump's force.

Then they were falling, and Carmelita bared her teeth and shut her eyes (to protect them from the wind, of course). She anticipated the dropping feeling, the extreme pain and tension from the fall. But a large gust of wind proved that they were not actually plummeting to the ground like she thought. In fact, if she didn't know better…

She looked up, gratefully seeing the paraglider Sly was controlling. Now they were just drifting down, calmly descending from the not extravagantly but still quite painful height of seven stories, down to the pavement. Well, the roof of a bus, really.

As they came to a metre range, Sly pulled a cord on the paraglider, literally like a rip tag, because it caused the glider to tear apart. Carmelita didn't see it, however, more intent on landing quietly on the metal roof.

They dropped down and…phom. Not too bad for a first try, Carmelita thought, grinning. Sly smiled at her, then crouched down like before, holding onto grooves, indents or other unintentional handles. She copied, and quickly noticed the force that had made her run.

A piece of rope. Just like the one in her air vent. Tied around her wrist, connecting it with Sly's. Damn that raccoon!

She was about to blast Sly, when she saw his leg pouch within arm's distance. And she remembered the letter.

This one was the real deal, she was sure of it. And if he read it, she was as good as gone; they'd send her packing so fast she wouldn't be able to breath. Carmelita's imagination whizzed around her brain, thinking of what the gang would do if she was found out. They wouldn't hurt her, she was confident, but she'd break the blossoming friendships she was creating. And she hadn't had friends that truly cared about her in a long time.

She had to get that envelope. She glanced at Sly's face and body, and, seeing that it wasn't moving, she slowly reached out her hand for that red pocket. Closer, closer, she almost had her fingers level with it.

'Hey Carmen,' Sly said, turning to look at her. She flattened her arm to the bus and looked at him.

'Yeah?' she said nonchalantly.  
'Can you climb?'

Carmelita raised an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting the envelope. 'Of course I can,' she stated proudly. 'I got onto the roof by myself, didn't I?'

Sly smiled. 'Right. But what about things like trees?'

Carmelita shrugged (as much as her position would let her). 'Same thing, isn't it? Climbing is climbing, end of story.'

Sly nodded and turned back to looking at the front. Carmelita stared at him a moment longer, wondering where he got these crazy questions from. Then she focused back on his pocket. Her hand had slipped a little, but she moved quicker this time, her fingers soon able to open the pocket.

But it seemed like Sly didn't button down his leg pouch, as the top flap fluttered slightly with the rushing air. Carmelita shrugged, that wasn't the hard part. Actually getting the envelope out would be tricky. With extreme caution, Carmelita slid her fingers slowly into the pocket. She frowned and felt further.

Empty. But she had seen him put it in here! Where could it have gone in just two minute-

It clicked. Sly had posed that odd question as a _distraction_, knowing what she was trying to do, and taken it out without her realising. That sneaky ringtail!

More than a little frustrated that her efforts had been in vain, and that she had been so obvious about it, Carmelita needed to vent her anger, and Sly's shoes was the first thing she saw. She drew back her arm and whacked it as hard as she could, mentally cursing him.

But he didn't flinch, or yelp in pain like she expected. He laughed.

She looked at him in mild confusion, and he turned to look at her.

'Sorry Carmen,' he apologised, his eyes teasing her and the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile. 'But there's no way you're getting to this before I am.'

He smiled fully, waving the envelope with his free hand. Carmelita desperately made a snatch for it, but he easily pulled it out of reach.

'But I'll tell you what,' he teased, pretending to be thoughtful, tapping his chin with the white corner. 'I'll lend it to you after I finish with it. Although I don't know why you want it so badly. What interesting things could I.S.P. possibly want to say anyway?'

Carmelita frowned deeply, baring her teeth. She just HAD to get her letter off of that arrogant thief, and there was NO way he could be allowed to read it! She tried to think of a plan while he chuckled at her face.

'You know, with your face like that, you could probably be Carmelita's cousin or something.' he said grinning at her.

Outwardly, she poked her tongue out at him. But inwardly, she filed this away as a possible excuse to use later on. Hmm, now why hadn't _she_ thought of that?

Sly looked like he was about to comment on something else, but his ears perked and he whirled his head to look at something on the not to distant horizon. Which was slowly going golden. He turned back to her, a serious look on his face. 'Okay Carmen, enough jokes. We get off here and sprint back to the hideout, before Bentley fries us up and eats us for breakfast. Got it?'

She nodded, trying not to giggle at the picture of a big and scary Bentley cooking them in a frying pan with bacon and eggs (yes, that was a little random, wasn't it?), and they crouched in ready position on the metal roof. On Sly's signal, they both jumped off and ran the few blocks to the hideout (passing by an unconscious and unpleasant youth as they went by a nearby park). Panting, Sly quickly vaulted the fence, almost injuring Carmelita as his jump pulled fiercely on her wrist, and she had to climb quickly to avoid dislocation.

Approaching the house very quietly, the pair snuck inside with nary a sound. As they crept past the kitchen, Carmelita grabbed a knife and sliced the rope bond between them, setting them free. She looked down at her frayed end for a moment, then placed the knife carefully back in its holder, and made her way, ever-so-quietly, to her mattress, before flopping down to sleep again.

Holding on tightly to a crisp white envelope.

A/N: Okay, that seemed to have no point whatsoever. I hope it was a little funny at least? Anyway, once again, I am _really_ sorry about the lateness, I hope it doesn't happen again! Anyway, until next time!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Hallo again! Next instalment is here! Now, where were we? Oh, that's right, Carmelita had flopped down onto her bed with the envelope. Just when you thought she was doomed Well, anyway, hope you like this chapter, and I don't own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray or any envelopes. Seriously, I don't. Now, the story!

The sound of voices woke Carmelita from her quick four-hour nap. It was just background noise until a nasally voice told her loudly to get up before she missed lunch as well. Carmelita opened her eyes groggily, a green blur slowly coming into focus.

'Come on, lazy-bones!' the turtle scolded. 'You've been sleeping for hours!'

'Sorry Bentley,' Carmelita mumbled, swinging her legs to the side to get up. 'Guess I really needed that sleep, huh?'

Bentley frowned at her. 'You didn't do anything worth sleeping for twelve hours, though!' Once she was up, he turned and walked out of the room, grumbling, 'And Sly too! How can anyone sleep in for so long on the day of a heist?'

Carmelita could hear his voice getting further away, and smiled. Then her memories came flooding back, washing out the fog from her mind. She took a moment to remember all the important details she'd noticed last night, then her fur stood up. The envelope!

She spun, looking around her blanket and the mattress.

Not there.

She jumped up, grabbing the blanket and flinging it onto a nearby couch. Not under it. She quickly searched around the mattress, maybe she'd-

There. On the table. Carmelita breathed again. At least…wait. How did it get on the table? She couldn't remember putting it there; after all, she'd had it in her hands when she went to sleep. Didn't she?

Cautious, she picked up the letter and examined it. It was Interpol, no mistaking it. And I.S.P.'s crest was just below it. Hey, Carmelita thought curiously, how did Sly know that last night, when he had wondered out loud what Interpol and I.S.P. were doing sending letters to a person on holidays. Even she had to admit, it was pretty suspicious.

Carmelita frowned. Dammit! If she got her cover blown because of this, she would make sure they'd NEVER forget it. She flipped over the envelope and looked at the seal (not a big wax blob, just the normal sticky envelope seal). She lifted the edges, testing to see if it had been opened and re-sealed somehow. She looked very closely. It didn't look like it had been opened, but perhaps someone as smart as, say, Bentley, could seal it so it looked flawless.

Only one way to find out. She carefully pealed open the sticky seal. She breathed out when it opened nicely, without ripping. Then she became suspicious. Why should it open so well unless it's been opened already? But the letter was so close, Carmelita's curiosity insisted she see that first. She reached for it, but stopped. She looked up, to the doorway. No one. She walked over to the far side of the room, turned to face the door, and reached for the letter again.

Opening it quickly, Carmelita read the following:

'Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox,

Your services on behalf of Interpol in the case of the Cooper gang have assisted us greatly. We feel that you have spent enough time inside the Cooper gang as is necessary for their capture and arrest. In three days time, Interpol will invade the current residence of the Cooper gang's hideout, and arrest those inside. You will have until then to leave. If you are found in this residence at the said time, you will also be arrested.

If the Cooper gang do not occupy said residence at that time, we will use your information to lead us to their new location. Fail to do this, or co-operate, and you will be arrested.

Your assistance is appreciated.

Sincerely,   
Interpol Strategies and Planning, Branch C.'

Carmelita raised her eyes from the paper, looking very shocked indeed. They wanted her to leave. They were going to arrest Sly, Bentley and Murray in three days if they stayed here. If they didn't, Carmelita would be the one forced to say where they went. If not, she'd be arrested.

She looked at the letter again and frowned. You know, it almost sounded like they were blackmailing her with arrest. Then they thank her for her assistance. It was almost laughable.

Carmelita looked up again from the letter, getting angry. So, she thought, this is how they treat valued officers, is it? They send me into enemy lines, leave me there until they remember about me, then order that I come back, and blackmail me with arrest. And send the letter so obviously, its no wonder Sly is suspicious! 

Her hand began to crumple the letter.

They can't do this! she thought angrily, they can't make me turn my back on everyone, on Bentley, on Murray. On Sly. Fierce tears burned behind her eyes, and she threw the letter on the ground, turning away from it and storming out of the room.

She stomped down the hallway, past the kitchen, and a surprised looking Bentley and Murray, and headed for the back door. But just as she had her hand on the doorknob, Bentley called out. 'No! Carmen, you can't go outside!'

Carmelita spun, her hand still on the doorknob. 'And why not?' she asked icily, glaring at Bentley. Bentley gulped at her fierceness, but explained.

'It's the day of the heist. If anyone sees you, and links you to the heist, they could find out where our hideout is, and we'd get arrested.'

Carmelita paused, his words sinking in, and she looked sadly at the turtle. He's right, she thought, but it doesn't make a difference. Poor Bentley will be in jail in three days anyway. She looked down at her shoes, feeling really bad that it would be her fault.

'Okay Bentley,' she said. 'I won't go outside. But is there anywhere in the house that I can go to think?' she asked, looking back up at him. Bentley pondered for a moment.

'Well, there is the attic…' he mumbled. Carmelita grinned.

'Thanks Bent!' she said. 'How do I get up there?'

'Wait a minute!' he said, surprised. 'Don't you at least want lunch first?'

'Nope,' she said quickly. 'I need some time and I need it now. So tell me!'

'But you've never-'

'I've been in an attic before, Bent. I know how to not fall through the ceiling. Come on!'

'There's no safe way to get up there-'

'Tell me where it is and I'll find out myself.'

'But there's nothing to climb on in the laundry-'

Carmelita smiled her most brilliant smile. 'Thanks!' and ran over to the laundry. For some reason that Carmelita didn't really know, Sly was in there already. She decided to make use of this extra pair of hands.

'Hey, Cooper, give me a boost will you?' she asked. Sly just smiled and nodded.

'Where to?' he asked, folding his hands to a kind of step.

'No Sly, he's not supposed to go up there!' a voice called from the kitchen. 'It's dangerous!'

'Don't worry about him, little buddy,' said Murray, swallowing the massive bite of his sandwich that had kept him quiet. 'I'll help too.'

And he got up and came over. Carmelita smiled, and looked at the ceiling as Murray followed Sly and folded his fingers together.

'Okay, you see that square there?' she said, pointing up at a faint blackish outline on the roof. 'That's where I want to go.'

So, with Murray on one side and Sly on the other, Carmelita nimbly climbed until she had a foot on each of their hands, and a hand on each of their shoulders. She spied the square above her head.

'Alright, lift me up please,' she said, and they slowly lifted her until her head almost touched the ceiling. 'and stop for a minute.'

Carmelita looked closely at the square. It didn't have any handles so she supposed she'd have to…

Carmelita pushed up on the square. It lifted up fairly easily, and she pushed it aside, revealing the dark opening to the attic. 'Okay, one last boost.' she said, and soon her head and shoulders were through the gap. She pulled herself up quickly, and found some decent footing, before turning to call back. 'Thanks!' and putting the square, which she saw was wooden, over the gap, but not covering it completely. Then she looked around.

There were wires everywhere. She supposed it was all the security. Sunlight from between the tiles and the gutter lit up the attic just enough to see outlines. She looked for an open space to sit down that wasn't too close to the opening, lest she be heard if she started talking to herself.

Over there, near that set of wires. There was a perfect space for her. Carmelita carefully negotiated her way over, holding onto beams for support. Getting to her chosen spot, she sat down cross-legged amidst the wires, closing her eyes and casting her mind and thoughts back to her letter.

Three days. That was it. The deadline. She had to think of something. Leaning back on a beam, she tried thinking logically. She needed to get out, that was one thing. But she needed to make sure the others got out, or at least escaped. So, what was she going to do? She couldn't just go up to Bentley and say 'Hey, you need to find a new hideout because my co-workers will arrest you if you don't escape.'

Hmm. Carmelita's eyes opened as she thought intently on this problem. What they needed, she deduced slowly, was information. If they knew, they could plan ahead.

'But how am I supposed to do that?' she asked the air. It's not like she could just write an anonymous letter and…

'Oh no.' she said, not liking where this was going. But her mind continued. It's the perfect plan, it told her, you write an anonymous note that explains everything they need to know, and then leave it where someone will find it, problem solved!

Right, she thought sarcastically (probably her cop side), and what if they suspect me? I'll get grilled, and they'll all know who I am. I can't let that happen.

Why not? her other thoughts (her heart, most likely) asked. You could just say you opened the letter, and say that's where you got your info.

No I can't! her cop side yelled. It says _on the letter_ that I'm WITH the Cooper gang. Who else could it be?

Hmm.

'I guess I could leave,' Carmelita whispered, not wanting to say it, and trying not to think about it. But do you think her thoughts listened? No chance.

That's exactly what you should do, her cop side said, leave these criminals behind and get back to your job. 

No way! her heart said, shocked, they're my friends! I can't just go without saying goodbye. I…I might not have friends like these again.

They're criminals! Her cop side yelled for the umpteenth time. You. Can't. Be. Friends. With. Criminals!

Tough luck, her heart said bluntly, I am. And there is one that is more than my friend. I-

I know, I know, her cop side said angrily, you've fallen for that criminal. Well why don't you just stay here and get arrested!

'Shut up!' Carmelita said forcefully to the empty attic. 'Just shut up.' She let her head fall in her hands, elbows leaning on her knees. She sighed. It looked like she'd have to take an idea from both sides. Write an anonymous letter. And leave.

Tears came once again to her eyes. She didn't want to leave this place, this comfort. This home. She didn't want to go back to feeling lonely every night, to eating soup from a cup, or some other easy-to-make meal for one. To go to work every day, without weekends, putting up with those stupid jerks and venomous women, trying to make her life hell, and succeeding. To coming _this close_ to catching Cooper and-

Okay, maybe she didn't mind that all too much. She smiled despite her tears. That seemed to be the only fun part left in her job. And it was wrong. Her smile vanished as she remembered how many times Cooper had escaped, and the number of times she'd been yelled at by her boss. That was definitely unpleasant.

'But I guess I've got to go back.' she said, defeated. 'I mean, what would Papa say if he found out?'

'Well, guess it'd be hard to tell,' said a voice from the opening. Carmelita jumped and almost broke a couple of gadgets before spinning around to see-

A head popping out of the gap with a big grin on its face. Carmelita looked at it for a moment in shock, before grabbing her shoe and throwing it at the face. Unprepared for battle, it got hit square on the nose.

'Ouch!' it said, bringing up a hand to rub its nose. Carmelita hurriedly wiped her eyes and grinned.

'That's what you get for eavesdropping, Cooper.' she said, getting up from her spot and finding her way back.

'Yeah, well you were just as bad,' he said, smiling mischievously. 'Talking to the dead and assaulting innocent people with flying shoes.'

Carmelita was about to inform him that she was not trying to talk to the dead, since her dad was very much alive, but she caught it in time, and instead just said. 'Innocent? I think you deserved to be hit!'

Sly grinned and disappeared through the gap. A moment later his hand came back up. 'Guess you'd want this back,' he said casually, holding up her shoe. 'Though I don't even know why I offer to give it back to such a mean, uncaring person like you.'

'Oh, you don't have to hand it over,' she said slyly, snatching the shoe from his hand. 'I can get it myself.' She quickly put the shoe back on and looked down to where Sly was standing. Well, actually, he'd just gotten off the chair he _was_ standing on. She smiled. Bracing her arms against the sides of the gap, she swiftly dropped down onto the chair, her legs bending until she was almost squatting. But she got up again quickly, and reached up to cover the gap with the wooden square she pushed aside earlier.

Smiling, Carmelita hopped off the chair and slowly walked into the kitchen. She looked around and saw no one there, then headed straight for the fridge. Ah ha! she thought, Murray _didn't_ eat my lunch. She smiled, pulling out a long roll on a plate and bringing it over to the sink.

It was a little cold, but she hadn't eaten since last night, so she was lucky she actually chewed the sandwich before swallowing it. Dusting the crumbs off her hands and face, she looked around. That's odd, she thought, where'd Cooper go? He was just here a minute ago…

'Boo.' said a soft voice in her ear. Carmelita's fur stood up, but she didn't jump, just turned around slowly to glare at that sneaky raccoon. He grinned.

'Bentley wants to show you something for the recon work later, so he sent me to get you. Come on,' he said, waving for her to follow him.

They went down to the garage (without going outside) where Bentley was waiting and Murray was eating. Sly and Carmelita walked over to Bentley, who held in his hands a similar looking pair of binoculars to the ones Carmelita had seen Sly use in the first heist. She slowed down, walking cautiously over to Bentley and his magic machine thing.

'Carmen's had bad experiences with binocucoms, Bent, so maybe you'd better explain it from the top.' Sly advised to his short green friend, who nodded. And for the next few minutes, Carmelita got the low-down on Bentley's invention. Soon, she knew how to communicate, take photos, record, zoom, and switch it on or off, of course.

'Thanks Bentley!' she said, smiling and looking at the binocucom. He gave her a small smile then turned serious again.

'Alright you two,' he said, addressing Sly and Carmelita, who both turned to look at him. 'We need some recon photos before we pull off tonight's heist, so Murray will drive you close to the petrol station, and then you have an hour. After that, Murray will drive the van past, and you'll have to climb in, whether you have or haven't taken any photos. That's the most amount of time I can allow for you outside so you don't get spotted. Hopefully it'll be enough.'

'Don't worry Bent,' Sly reassured his pessimistic friend. 'It'll be more than enough time for us, we're experts!' he said, grinning at Carmelita. She gave him a wobbly smile.

'Yeah, experts.' she mumbled, looking back down at the binocucom.

'Well, 'The Murray' has finished his hotdog, so he can warm up his baby and get going.' Murray announced, and Sly nodded.

'Okay, be back shortly,' he said to Bentley, grinning. 'Let's go, Carmen.' And with that, Sly and Carmelita jumped into the back of the panel van, Murray hopped into the driver's seat, and they were off.

Carmelita sat down, and immediately sunk deep in thought. Sly and Murray joked between each other, but Carmelita sat stiffly, a pressing thought etched in her mind.

What was she going to say to Interpol?

She had decided long ago that telling them the truth would probably not be the best thing, so now she had to think of what she could say. Though maybe she should leave some bits in, to make it seem real. Oh, this was confusing!

She sighed, and rested her head on her palm, her elbow again on her knee as she sat in the back. Okay, what could she say?

'You alright Carmen?' Murray asked from the driver's seat, glancing quickly in the rear-view mirror at the glum fox in the back. She briefly took her head off her hand to nod, then put in back down again. Well, she certainly couldn't mention becoming friends with Bentley and Murray. She glanced up to see Sly sitting back, arms crossed, but with a concerned look on his face.

'You sure?' he asked, keeping eye contact with her. She nodded again, and looked back at the floor. She couldn't mention her feelings towards Cooper either. So what _could_ she say? Hmm, let's see. She looked at the back of the front seats, squinting in concentration. She could say that there were hostilities when she first arrived, after all, Bentley didn't accept her straight away. What else? She could say that the gang did a lot of planning before heists, and all plans were different for each job. That would also mean that Interpol couldn't say they could know exactly where Sly was going to next from what he left.

She grinned. Perhaps she wouldn't say that Cooper left evidence and criminals for her to arrest. After all, that make her job seem easy, and it was anything but simple. What else? Perhaps she could leave out Bentley's many security alarms. After all, she thought with another grin, she could let Interpol find that out for themselves.

Hmm, perhaps it would be enough. And who knows, maybe they wouldn't ask her anything at all. After all, they said this was supposed to help _her _catch Cooper, wasn't it? She sighed, her thoughts decided. She would write the note when she got back to the hideout after this recon work, help with the heist, then leave.

She blinked back her watery eyes, looking back on her plan with a reluctant humour. Since when was she so comfortable with criminals or leaving friends? She mentally shook her head. She was becoming far too fragile for her own good. What happened to the old Carmelita, the one who could take anything anyone threw at her, and wasn't dependant on anyone?

She died of loneliness, her heart told her cruelly.

Her cop side was about to throw back some snide comment when Sly interrupting the feuding sides.

'Carmen?' he asked carefully. She looked up at him, and he looked surprised to see her react so quickly.

'Yeah?' she responded casually, taking her head off her hand and sitting up straight.

Sly smiled. 'Thought you were still out of it, seeing as that's the fourth time I've called to you.' He grinned at Carmelita's surprised expression. 'Yeah, well you must have been thinking about something really important, my- te.'

Carmelita raised an eyebrow. Sly gave her a slightly nervous smile. 'Heh, myte, I meant to say mate. You know, uh, the Ozzie slang for friend.'

Carmelita raised her other eyebrow. Even Murray turned to look at his friend for a moment.

'I was debating whether to say it or not, so I got stuck halfway through.' Sly covered casually, wishing Carmelita's eyebrows would go down. After a moment, they complied. So he continued.

'Anyway, I was trying to tell you that we're five minutes away, so get ready to jump out.' He said quickly. Luckily, Murray took the conversation from there.

'Yes, little buddy,' Murray began, talking over his shoulder as he neared the innocent-looking petrol station. ' We are almost there.'

Carmelita leaned over the passenger seat, looking out the windscreen at the slowly emerging building in the distance. This was it.

The beginning of the end.

A/N: I know the end sounds dark, but never fear! I won't let a sad ending darken the story! Sorry to all those people who wanted some massive twist and have the story go somewhere completely different. Sorry. Anyway, until the next chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N and **_Disclaimer_**: Hi hello again A thousand apologies for my lateness!!! Next chapter is finally here, yay! Okay, so this should be the one where the heist takes place. Now, let's see what happens, shall we? Oh, and in case you don't quite get what a petrol station is, it's a gas station, okay? Anyway, I don't own Sly Cooper, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray or any petrol stations. Otherwise I'd be rich Now, on with the story…

Murray drove slow and casually past the suspicious petrol station, and two figures stealthy jumped out and hid behind some shrubs as Murray kept driving at his casual pace, before slowly speeding up and leaving. No one noticed a thing.

'Alright Carmen,' Sly said, turning to Carmelita. 'You ready to-'

'Sly! You there?' a crackling voice yelled from his binocucom, and he winced before pulling it out of his leg pouch.

'Yes Bentley?' he droned, winking at Carmelita, who just rolled her eyes at his games, even though she was smiling.

'Come on Sly, stop mucking around and let's go.' she advised. Now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

'Desperate to get out of here, eh?' he teased. Her face hardened, almost hurt.

'I am not!' she said loudly. Sly shushed her, looking around quickly.

'Okay, sorry Carmen,' he whispered. 'I didn't realise you'd get offended. But keep your voice down, we don't want to get caught.' he explained. He turned back to the binocucom, and Bentley.

'Okay Bentley, what's first?' he asked, as Carmelita pulled a face, then checked out her surroundings from behind the greenery. Not to check if anyone had actually heard her and noticed, just to see the surroundings, you know.

The petrol station was just a long, flat building, with a handful of pumps in rows out the front. She couldn't see if there was anyone working there, so she pulled out her binocucom and zoomed in to the register. There was a young skunk behind it, but he had fallen asleep, visibly snoring with his feet up on the counter. She turned her attention to anywhere near the building that might serve as a hidden point of entry.

Sly finished his conversation with Bentley and quickly put away his binocucom, turning to Carmelita. 'Bentley says there's an easy access point-'

'-to the left of the main pumps.' she finished, focusing on them with her binocucom. He gave her a grin she couldn't see, and finished his explanation.

'And I bet you didn't know, smarty pants, that inside the entrance, there's three levels of security to pass before getting into the main rooms.' he said smugly, as he watched her pause, flicking some gadgets before lowering her binocucom a moment later, turning to him. He paused for effect as she frowned at him. 'Lucky we're not going in through the main door.' he said, winking. She rolled her eyes and hid her grin.

'Alright,' she said to amuse him. 'How do we get in?'

He tapped the side of his head. 'You've got to use your head, Carmen!' he teased, and she whacked him on the arm. 'Alright, alright! There's an air vent in the small entrance that we can get to.' he admitted, playfully rubbing his assaulted arm. 'There's always air vents, isn't there?' he observed, smiling. Carmelita grinned.

'Yeah, you'd think they'd get ducted heating and cooling or something.' she said playfully.

'Will you guys concentrate on the heist?!' A peeved voice crackled from Sly's leg pouch. Sly rolled his eyes.

'Yes, _mum _(or _mom_ for you Americans),' he said in a monotone voice, before rubbing his hands briefly. 'Alright, let's get down to business!'

The pair snuck over to the access point Bentley mentioned without any drama, and slipped into the small entrance hall he had told them about. 'It really is small,' Carmelita said, as she squished in next to Sly, having to look around the room busily to avoid him seeing the heat in her cheeks. He nodded, almost hitting her in the head.

'Well, it's only designed for one person,' he reasoned. 'And even then, probably only to put a couple of codes in the system before going to the next room.' Carmelita agreed, nodding very carefully.

'But let's get to the next level.' Sly said, looking up at the air vent. It was a little higher than expected, but it didn't deter either of them. Carmelita suddenly had a light bulb idea (those ideas where a light bulb goes 'ding' above your head). She looked over at Sly, who was still looking up at the vent, scratching his head.

'I've got an idea,' she said casually. He looked at her, smiling.

'Great! What is it?' he asked. She smiled, pausing for effect.

'Well, the vent's only a foot or two out of reach, right?' she said. He nodded his head, and she continued. 'So, if I knelt on the ground, you could climb on my back to get up there, and then pull me up.'

She watched carefully for his reaction, and part two of her idea. If he knew who she was, he wouldn't do it because gentlemen just don't step on ladies' back to climb up walls. If he didn't, he'd do it. She looked at him.

Sly blinked. 'Sure,' he said quickly. Then he bent to kneel on the ground. Carmelita caught him by his shoulder, hiding her grin, and pulled him up.'No Sly,' she said innocently. 'You step on me, since it'll be quicker for you to undo the vent.'

'But you're- so small,' he protested, slipping in the middle of his sentence. 'I'd hurt you.'

'Come on,' she said, trying to sound tough. 'I'm not weak. And you're not overweight. The quicker we do this the faster we'll get in and out. Ask Bentley,' she pushed. Sly still faltered, and she looked at him quizzically. Maybe-

'Okay,' Sly said, looking her in the eye. 'let's go.'

Now it was her turn to falter. What else but the truth could have made him pause like that? But she abandoned her thoughts for the time being, and knelt on the ground. Sly paused once more, looking at her. 'Sorry,' he whispered, and swiftly stepped on her back and undid the cover, before pulling himself in quickly. Carmelita got up, surprised at how quickly he moved. A moment passed before Sly's head emerged from the vent.

'Harder to turn around than it looks,' he said, offering a hand. Carmelita smiled, grabbing his hand securely. He grinned.

'Need a lift, my-' he began, before clamping his mouth shut, his grip on Carmelita's hand wavering slightly. Carmelita grinned slyly, understanding his second slip of the tongue.

'Mate?' she finished off for him, the picture of innocence. Sly grinned sheepishly.

'Friend?' he said, seeing if she would buy it. Carmelita just laughed, and finally Sly hoisted her up with him.

'Well, I think you have wasted about a quarter of the allocated time,' Bentley said in a sarcastic-calm voice from Sly's binocucom. Sly picked it out of his pocket and brought it to his eyes.

'Yeah, we had a problem, but we fixed it and are ready to go.' Sly explained quickly. Bentley instructed them to go forward, until they came across a fork (a split-fork, not a fork-fork) in the vent system. That's when they split, Sly going to the left, and Carmelita going to the right. She crawled for a few metres, then stopped, waiting for Bentley to come in on her binocucom. A few moments later, a crackling noise signalled for Carmelita to pull out her binocucom.

'Carmen?' he crackled.

'Yes Bentley,' she replied. 'What do I do?'

And for the next half an hour, Bentley gave directions to both Sly and Carmelita, switching between the two. Soon hundreds of photos and snapshots were taken of the inner workings of Mia Felon's corrupt counterfeiting scheme. The machinery, entrance points, and the bird herself were snapped, before Bentley called them back.

'Alright,' he said after enough photos were downloaded to his computer. 'Head back, I'm sending Murray out now to the same place you got dropped off. And _please_ make sure you're not caught. Yes, Sly, I'm talking to you!' Carmelita stifled a giggle and put away her binocucom, turning around (Sly was right, it was harder than it looked) and crawling back along the shafts until she saw Sly on her right.

'Hello again,' she greeted in a friendly voice. He grinned.

'Hey,' he said coolly, stopping to let her pass. She smiled, and kept crawling until she got to the entrance hall, and wriggled out, landing heavily on her hands before turning to get back on her feet. Sly wriggled out a moment later, flipping to land on his feet, a feat accomplished after years of experience. She smiled at him, and they both exited out the entrance.

They had no trouble getting out either, and made their way back to the bushes, where they sat waiting for Murray to drive by. Not a moment later, Carmelita spotted the van on the horizon.

'There's our lift,' she said to Sly, pointing with her chin. He turned to look, and spied it.

'You've got good eyes, Carmen,' he said, looking her in the eye and grinning. She shrugged, smiling.

'I have to in my pr- life.' she said, finishing weakly. Changing the subject quickly, she asked. 'When's the heist again?'

It was a stupid question, and Sly raised his eyebrows before answering simply, 'Tonight.'

Carmelita smiled shakily. 'Right, yeah, that's right.'

And before she could mess up any further, the van came within jumping distance. Murray made eye contact with them through the windshield, a signal for them to hop in.

Which they did. Soon Murray was driving a relieved Carmelita and a suspicious Sly back to the hideout. They sat quietly, Sly looking at Carmelita, Carmelita looking at her shoes, and Murray looking at the road. After sitting like this for a while, Carmelita became nervous, and felt Sly absorbing her every move as she kept flicking her gaze up to see him still looking at her. Finally she became too tense.

'Would you quit it, Sly!' she said angrily, glaring at him. He just smiled.

'I was wondering when you'd get fed up with just sitting there.' he joked, still smiling at her. He paused for a moment, then asked. 'So, how do you think the recon work went?'

She blinked, then shrugged. 'Good, I guess. I mean, I haven't got anything to compare it to, so what I think doesn't count for much. You'd be better off asking Bentley.' she reasoned, before noticing that the small talk had calmed her down. She looked as Sly sat across from her, eyes twinkling above his smile, and gave him a small, grateful smile in return. Then she sat back against the van walls and waited to return to the hideout.

Sure enough, not so long after Murray had picked them up, the van pulled in to the garage beside a relieved Bentley.

'Come on guys,' he said in his nasally voice, waving his hands about slightly. 'We haven't got much time to plan the heist! Let's get inside!'

Urging them all inside, Bentley let them mull around the house for now. Carmelita retired to the attic once more, as she didn't really have her own room. She got up there by herself, after bringing a chair over to help herself up.

Sitting in the same spot she had sat in before, Carmelita leant against the supporting beam behind her, and the sadness and weight of her situation crashed heavily on her shoulders. She had to leave. Tonight. And she had to warn the others, without getting caught herself.

She grinned sarcastically. When she thought about it like that, it all seemed pretty simple. Except for her damn feelings. They were the ones that wanted to hold onto Cooper for dear life, and never let him go. They wouldn't let her leave, but for everyone's sake, she had to.

She sighed, the tears in her eyes racking her breathing. It hurt her to know she had to leave, but she knew she had to do it. Allowing herself a few minutes to compose herself, she then slipped back down to grab a piece of paper and pen, and crawled back up to her nook.

Leaning on a wide plank laying across half a dozen beams, she bent and began writing:

_Cooper Gang,_

Interpol knows about this hideout, and will arrive to arrest you in three days. If you don't leave, you'll be caught. Carm _Inspector Fox will be back on duty tomorrow. Make sure you're gone by then, and leave no clues or tell anyone where you're going._

She paused for a moment, debating whether to add the next bit in. But they wouldn't see them again, so she shrugged and added:

_Don't tell Carmen where you're going. Not a clue._

Looking at it, Carmelita decided that it would be enough. She tore the paper in half, and shoved the unused piece and the pen in her pocket, then folded the note up and put it in her other pocket. Just in case.

She sighed. It was final, and she knew it was the end of something she wouldn't see again, at least for a long time. She got down again as she heard a loud voice, sealing her hideaway from prying eyes.

Bentley called the gang into the lounge room. Carmelita, Sly and Murray walked in, seeing the familiar projector sitting on the table and hooked up to Bentley's laptop. They arranged themselves around the room, and watched as Bentley spent the next fifteen minutes going through his plan with them, where Sly would get in and take out the main factors and machinery in Mia Felon's dodgy dealings. Murray and Bentley also had a part, of course. Bentley would hack the main frame of the computer intranet in the corrupt business, and Murray would bash the place to bits.

Carmelita missed most of Bentley's plan from anxiety, but picked up her boy name as Bentley mentioned her staying in a nearby alleyway, waiting for Sly. She nodded tersely when Bentley flicked his gaze towards her for approval. When he finished, she didn't hear the silly questions and mucking about that usually followed one of Bentley's slideshows.

When the room grew quiet, Carmelita quietly stood up and left.

Retiring once more to the attic, she sat down, waiting quietly for the heist. Tears spilled down her face, but she did not make a sound. She let her emotions run free around her heart and mind, the only time she had allowed them to do so without restraint.

She did not say a word.

Eventually the strength of her emotions ebbed, and she was able to wipe her eyes and come back down, just in time for Bentley to race past, quickly telling her that she should get in the van in the next five minutes, and hurry. She nodded, ducking quickly into the bathroom to wash her face, then heading out to the garage, remembering to grab her fake cane from against the garage wall. Jumping into the van, she consciously kept a straight, emotionless face, and sat across from Sly. Murray made sure the gang was in, and then drove off, the sun nearing the horizon.

They drove for an hour in relative silence, and soon Murray dropped Sly and Carmelita off, before finding a decent hiding spot for Bentley and himself. Bentley would be working from his laptop, inside the van as Sly went inside. Carmelita would be outside. Bentley had actually planned the heist carefully so they could head closer to town before the police caught on, so Carmelita had a chance to hide amongst the crowded buildings, and then head back to the hideout. Carmelita's bottom lip quivered slightly, but she stopped before anyone saw. She hoped.

So, Sly and Carmelita hopped out of the van, and headed silently towards the building. They approached the entrance room once again, when suddenly, Sly turned and grabbed Carmelita's shoulders, pushing her against the wall. He pinned her there, looking closely and seriously into her eyes.

'Stop it.' he said, frowning at her. She looked back at him, expressionless and limp. He shook her.

'Stop it!' he shouted. Her head flopped back and forth, and he stopped shaking her and let go of her shoulders, still looking her fiercely in the eye.

'You're going to stop being sad.' he informed her. 'You're making me angry, Bentley anxious, and Murray upset. So just stop it, okay?!'

She looked at him, then hung her head. 'Sorry Sly,' she whispered. 'Sorry for everything.'

And she wasn't just taking as Carmen, but as herself too. Tears trickled down her face, and she sniffed, hating to be seen as weak. She roughly wiped her face with her sleeves, and looked up at him, trying to compose herself. He smiled gently at her, and she smiled back.

Sly noticed her (slightly) improved mood, and turned to the entrance. 'Be back soon!' he said warmly, and slipped in. Carmelita looked absently as the door slowly closed, then slumped against the wall, sinking to the ground.

She looked around for anyone, and, seeing herself alone, pulled out the piece of paper and pen from her pocket. The smile disappeared from her face as she wrote a quick apology to the Cooper Gang. It said:

_Cooper Gang,_

I'm sorry. I have to go. Thank you for everything, I won't forget this.

Carmen.

Carmelita sighed, slowly putting it in her pocket, and was just preparing herself for a long wait, when Murray drove past on the highway, extraordinarily quiet. Bentley buzzed her binocucom, and she didn't think twice before getting up and creeping over to the van.

She hopped in, greeted Bentley and Murray, and sat, waiting for Sly. Carmelita listened and watched with interest as Bentley gave Sly directions, advice and warnings through the heist. From his continuous talk, Carmelita was able to find out exactly where Sly was in the mission, and guess how long it would be til he came out. She pondered briefly that having this information would be invaluable to Interpol, but shook her head fiercely. _That_ was worse than thievery. Soon enough, Bentley stopped his flow of information, and Carmelita knew Sly would come out. By the sounds of it, he hadn't tripped any alarms yet, so all was quiet when he snuck into the van.

But Carmelita, as well as the Cooper gang, knew Interpol wasn't that slow. As Murray was driving, they could here sirens. He was about to turn and start gunning it in the opposite direction, but Carmelita had an idea.

'Wait Murray,' she said, leaning on the front seats from the back. 'just keep driving.'

'Are you crazy?!' Murray said, his voice getting higher with worry. ''The Murray' and his friends will get captured!'

'No,' Carmelita said slowly. 'it's okay. Just keep driving, real casual, and don't make eye-contact with any drivers.'

Bentley was about to say something, but the police cars came into view, and Carmelita motioned for dead silence.

They held their breath as one car passed, and kept driving, all four looking carefully at the road ahead. Then another car. A third car was passing when Carmelita's eyes flickered accidentally towards the passenger side.

Officer Lax. The wolf looked her right in the eye as she drove past. Carmelita thought she didn't notice, when the car screeched a dodgy U-turn, and began following them. The other cars had caught on, and two turned and followed, one continuing to the scene of the crime.

The group looked at each other. Carmelita hung her head. Bentley sighed.

'You're as bad as Sly when it comes to girls,' he grumbled.

'Lucky we're used to this, and we've got a fair lead.' the turtle added, sounding slightly positive in the face of danger. Carmelita apologised. She had ruined her own plan, after all.

'Don't worry,' Sly said, grinning at her. 'You can apologise later.'

Her stomach flip-flopped.

'But right now, we've got some cops to lose.'

Her stomach twisted sickeningly, threatening to make her loose her food as well as her friends.

Murray hurriedly parked the van in an alley and switched off the lights. The back doors opened, and Sly ushered Carmelita out, acting like an English taxi driver.

'Well old chap, this is your stop, I do believe,' he said, his accent appalling but laughable. At least, it was to Carmelita.

'Indeed,' she said, grinning. 'Well, best be off, what-what!' She shook his hand, inclined her head, and with a smile, was off. And Sly was left to wonder about the paper she'd slipped him when they shook hands.

As Carmelita rounded the corner, she spotted Officer Lax, who hadn't noticed her yet, on the other side of the road. She was getting out of her car, and Carmelita took the chance to do an ultra-high jump onto the nearest rooftop, and sneak down the street. After all, the whole purpose was to get her _away_ from the Cooper gang.

Her friends.

She blinked heavily, trying to concentrate on her job. Her feelings could come back later. As Officer Lax looked around, Carmelita got her attention by kicking some of the crumbling roof tile onto the road. In the quiet of the young night, it echoed around he cramped buildings, and it didn't take long for the wolf to spot Carmelita on the rooftop.

'Hey there,' the Interpol Officer (the one on the ground) said sweetly. 'You wouldn't know where I could find the Cooper gang, would you Carmen?'

Carmelita was surprised. Usually, well, last time anyway, the wolf didn't spot her as the fake Sly right away. So she jumped down to three metres (about ten feet) away, poked her tongue out to the Officer and ran the other way.

To her eternal relief, Officer Lax thought Carmelita's gesture meant she was going to actually _show her_ where the Cooper gang were hiding, and followed.

Carmelita didn't run fast, but she weaved in and out of a lot of little streets, and soon her endurance wore out the exhausted Officer. Leaving her in the streets with a wave, Carmelita soon found access to a rooftop, and got her bearings.

Then she headed home.

A/N: I won't write 'The End' because there is one more chapter to this story. But this is it for Carmen. He won't be back (unless I write a sequel, which is NOT GONNA HAPPEN). Sorry Anyway, last chapter coming up (hopefully sooner then this one, a thousand apologies!!!!). Until next time!


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